Sir Edmund Hillary passed away today from heart failure at the age of 88. He was reported as the famous New Zealander in the 21st century.

Sir Edmund Hillary

Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man who climbed the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest. He reached the summit of the 8848m mountain on 29 May 1953 together with sherpa Tenzing Norgay. He was also the one who established the Scott Base in Antarctica back in 1957.

He was the only living New Zealander to appear on the bank note. It is a great lost to New Zealand but the country will remember him as the man who stood on top of the world.

Helen Clark, New Zealand Prime Minister said Hillary is the legendary mountaineer, adventurer, and philanthropist is the best-known New Zealander ever to have lived.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 5:37 pm and is filed under Celebrity News. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.