Edmund Hillary, 1919-2008

On May 29, 1953, Hillary, with the help of his Sherpa guide, became the first person to reach Earth's highest point. Standing atop the peak of Mount Everest, the New Zealand-born mountaineer beheld a view never before seen: "The whole world around us lay spread out like a giant relief map." It is a feat that has been achieved many times since but never with such resonance.

—Gilbert Cruz

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