The unassuming New Zealand beekeeper who conquered Mount Everest to win renown as one of the 20th century's greatest adventurers died Friday. Sir Edmund Hillary was 88.
The lanky New Zealander devoted much of his life to aiding the mountain people of Nepal and took his fame in stride, preferring to be called Ed and considering himself an "ordinary person with ordinary qualities."
Hillary died at Auckland City Hospital at 9 a.m. local time on Friday, January 11, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark's office said.
Though ailing in his later years, he remained active. No cause of death was immediately given.
Hillary's life was marked by grand achievements, high adventure, discovery, and excitement. Yet he was humble to the point that he did not admit to being the first man atop Everest until long after the 1986 death of his climbing companion Tenzing Norgay.
The two men had become the first known humans to summit the world's tallest mountain on May 29, 1953 
Sir Edmund Hillary relaxes at home in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2002. Accompanied by Nepalese climbing companion Tenzing Norgay, Hillary in 1953 became the first man to scale Mount Everest.
May 28, 1953: Scaling Everest 
May 30, 1953: Celebrating Cliffside 
1953: Heroes' Welcome in London
January 11, 1957: First Antarctic Crossing 
January 27, 1960: Abominable Snowman 
January 11, 2008: Tenzing's Son Mourns 
May 20, 2003: At Home With an Old Friend
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Sir Edmund Hillary, Everest Pioneer, Dies at 88
