Edmund Hillary. (Auckland, New Zealand, 1919). New Zealand mountaineer and explorer. A beekeeper by trade but with great experience as a climber and mountaineer.
Summary
[ hide ]
- 1 Biographical synthesis
- 1 Trajectory
- 2 Death
- 2 Literary works
- 3 Sources
Biographical synthesis
He was born on 20 July as as 1919 in Auckland , New Zealand .
Trajectory
He started climbing from a young age. In the course of World War II he served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force. In 1951 and 1952 he participated in several expeditions to the Himalayas and later joined the British expedition to Mount Everest led by John Hunt in 1953 .
I first came to the summit on 29 of maypole of 1953 , being appointed later that same year Sir, in recognition of his achievement, the 8848 meters were not crowned until then. Or at least that’s what was believed, because the remains of George Mallory , another great adventurer who attempted the conquest of Everest in 1924 were found . His body disappeared in the middle of the expedition and many thought that what had become of him would never be known. But in 1999 he was found practically with the backpack still hanging from his back.
He was named Honorary President of the New York’s Explorers Club, and during the 1970s he returned to Everest, but this time not to scale it, but to help the Nepalese population build schools and hospitals, persuading the New Zealand government to send the necessary help, both financial and technological. In this way he obtained the foundation of the Everest National Park , for the conservation of the region and its environment. Hillary served for many years as the High Commissioner for New Zealand in India.
In 1955, he was elected head of the New Zealand group of the Commomwealth trans-Antarctic expedition, led by Vivian Fuchs. Hillary managed to cross the continent with snow tractors, reaching the South Pole on January 4 , 1958 , the first time since Robert Falcon Scott in 1912 succeeded. After leading several expeditions to the Himalayas, as well as the expedition to Antarctica that in 1967 first attempted the ascent to Mount Herschel. He visits Nepal constantly, where he is involved in the creation of schools and in the ecological maintenance of the country.
Death
Edmund Hillary passed away in Auckland on January 11 , 2008 .
Literary works
He is the author of books such as: From the ocean to the sky, on a boat journey from the Gulf of Bengal to the confines of the Himalayas, The Journey of Antarctica ( 1960 ) and the autobiography Sir Edmund Hillary. A vision from the summit ( 1999 ). From 1984 to 1988 he was the High Commissioner for New Zealand in India .
