Mount Everest was first climbed successfully in 1953. Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal reached the summit on 29 May during a British expedition.
The expedition was led by Colonel John Hunt. Hillary and Norgay were the second summit pair in the expedition’s final attempt, after Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans turned back because of equipment problems and exhaustion.
Everest lies in the Himalayas on the Nepal–China border. Its summit is the highest point on Earth above sea level, and the mountain is known in Nepal as Sagarmatha and in Tibet as Chomolungma. The official English name honors George Everest, a nineteenth-century Surveyor General of India.
The 1953 ascent followed several earlier attempts, including expeditions on the north and south sides. It is often mistakenly described as a solo achievement, but the climb depended on a large team of Sherpas, porters, scientists, and support staff.