On this day in history: Hillary and Norgay first to summit Everest in 1953

On May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made history by becoming the first humans to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The achievement remains one of the greatest milestones in the history of mountaineering.

On May 29, 1953, New Zealand climber Edmund Hillary and Nepali-Tibetan Sherpa Tenzing Norgay accomplished what no human had ever done before — they stood on the summit of Mount Everest, known in Tibetan as Chomolungma, the highest point on Earth at 8,849 metres above sea level.

The two men were part of a British expedition led by Colonel John Hunt and reached the peak via the South Col route on the Nepal side of the mountain. Their success came after numerous previous expeditions had failed, including a tragic 1924 attempt by George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, whose fate on the mountain remains a mystery to this day.

News of the conquest reached London on the morning of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, June 2, 1953, making the achievement a double celebration for the British public. Hillary was knighted shortly after, and Tenzing Norgay received the George Medal. The moment transformed both men into global icons and inspired generations of climbers around the world.

The ascent of Everest is widely regarded as the single most important day in the history of world alpinism — a historic milestone that proved the highest point on the planet was within human reach.