Sir Edmund Hillary dead at 88
New Zealand mountain-climber Sir Edmund Hillary died today at age 88 at the Auckland City Hospital at 9am NZDT (UTC+13).
Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first two to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the tallest mountain on earth. Norgay and Hillary reached the summit in 1953, after many previously failed attempts, some by Hillary.
After summiting Everest, Hillary was, among other recognition, made a Knight Commander of Order of the British Empire and inducted into the Order of New Zealand. Hillary’s death has been noted by the placement of flags at half-mast at the New Zealand parliament and at Scott Base in Antarctica.
Hillary was in the hospital at the time of his death but was expected to come home that day according to his family.
His first wife, Louise, and one of their three children, Belinda, died in a plane crash in 1975 while helping with Hillary’s philanthropic work. Hillary is survived by his second wife, June Mulgrew, and the other children from his first marriage, Peter and Sarah.
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