Birth of Edmund Percival Hillary
Birth of Edmund Percival Hillary
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Edmund Percival Hillary Biography and Timeline
Follow Edmund Percival Hillary through 21 dated historical records for New Zealand.
Edmund Percival Hillary, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
21Distinct records
1 of 1Page
1919–2008Years on this page
1919
1939
Mount Oliver
Completes his first major climb, reaching the summit of Mount Oliver in the Southern Alps
1951
Mount Everest
Hillary is part of a British reconnaissance expedition to Everest led by Eric Shipton before joining the successful British attempt of 1953
1953
Knighthood
Knighted shortly after the British-led Everest expedition arrives back in London
1958
Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition
Reaches the South Pole as part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, for which he led the New Zealand section
Commonwealth
Reaches the South Pole as part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, for which he led the New Zealand section
Discovery of South Pole
Reaches the South Pole as part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, for which he led the New Zealand section. First to reach the Pole since Amundsen in 1911 and Scott in 1912, the first motor vehicles to reach the Pole
1975
Citizens for Rowling
Takes part in the 1975 general election, as a member of the "Citizens for Rowling" campaign
Election
Takes part in the 1975 general election, as a member of the "Citizens for Rowling" campaign
1977
River Ganges
Leads a jetboat expedition, titled "Ocean to Sky", from the mouth of the Ganges River to its source
1985
Discovery of North Pole
Accompanies Neil Armstrong in a small twin-engined ski plane over the Arctic Ocean and lands at the North Pole becoming the first man to stand at both poles and on the summit of Everest
Ambassador
Appointed New Zealand High Commissioner (Ambassador) to India, Nepal and Bangladesh, and spends four and a half years based in New Delhi
1987
ONZ
Created a member of the Order of New Zealand (ONZ)
1995
KG
Created a Knight of the Order of the Garter (KG)
Commonwealth
Awarded the Polar Medal for his part in the Commonwealth Tran-Arctic Expedition
Polar Medal
Awarded the Polar Medal for his part in the Commonwealth Tran-Arctic Expedition
2003
Commonwealth
Committed to humanitarian work among the Sherpas through his Himalayan Trust and is made an honorary Nepalese citizen
2007
KBE
Created a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE)
Scott Base
Calls for the British Government to contribute to the upkeep of Scotts and Shackletons huts
Scott Base
Travels to Antarctica to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Scott Base
2008
Death of Edmund Percival Hillary
Hillarys death is announced by New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark during which she states that his passing was a "profound loss to New Zealand". Death of Edmund Percival Hillary
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.