Sir Edmund Hillary, one of the first two men to climb the world’s highest peak, died January 11 in Auckland, New Zealand, his home city. Hillary summited Mt. Everest with Tenzing Norgay Sherpa on May 29, 1953. He continued to explore the globe after Everest, including a trans-Antarctic journey in 1957–58 that marked the first time anyone had reached the South Pole since 1911. But his most lasting achievement may have been his efforts to help the Sherpa people in Nepal, where his Himalayan Trust built dozens of schools and medical clinics, bridges, water systems, and two hospitals.

The Internet is jammed today with news stories about Hillary. To find some of the best, follow the links below.

Britain’s Telegraph has an excellent summary of Hillary’s life and accomplishments: www.telegraph.co.uk.

English climbing author Jim Perrin has published a perceptive obituary at Guardian Unlimited: www.guardian.co.uk.

Hillary was always quotable (“We knocked the bastard off”), and The New Zealand Herald has collected some of his best lines: www.nzherald.co.nz.

Read the June 2, 1953, news story about the first ascent of Mt. Everest at Guardian Unlimited: www.guardian.co.uk.

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