SirEdmundHillarywasbornin1919andgrewupinAuckland．HillarywaseducatedatTuakauPrimarySchoolandthenAucklandGrammarSchool．Hefinishedprimaryschooltwoyearsearlyandathighschoolachievedaveragemarks．Hewassmallerthanh

　　Sir Edmund Hillary was born in 1919and grew up in Auckland．Hillary was educated at Tuakau Primary School and then Auckland Grammar School．He finished primary school two years early and at high school achieved average marks．He was smaller than his classmates there and was very shy so he buried himself in his books and daydreams of a life filled with adventure．At 16his interest in climbing started during a school trip to Mount Ruapehu．

　　Edmund Hillary joined in Everest reconnaissance （勘测） in 1951and again in 1952，as well as an unsuccessful act of trying to climb Cho Oyu in 1952．The New Zealander made history when he succeeded in climbing Mount Everest with his Nepalese partner in May 1953．He was the first man to climb the world's tallest mountain．

　　After climbing the 8，850meter peak，Hillary led a number of expeditions （探险） to the South Pole and devoted his life to helping the Sherpa people of Nepal's Khumbu region．He spent two years in India，and founded the Himalayan Trust in 1964．The Trust helped build hospitals and schools．He was made an honorary Nepalese citizen in 2003．

　　At home in New Zealand，the famous explorer was a simple beekeeper．Speaking in 2003，he said he was just an ordinary man who did not deserve celebrity （名人） status．"I never permitted the climb of Everest to make me regard myself as a heroic figure，"he said．"I knew I was no heroic figure．"

　　The explorer，one of the 20th century's greatest adventurers died in an Auckland hospital of a heart attack after a long illness．The death prompted an outpouring of sympathy，with messages of condolence （哀悼） flooding in from around the world．

　　Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the explorer was an inspiration to generations．"Sir Edmund's name is in connection with adventure，with achievement，with dreaming and then making those dreams come true，"she said．"I'm sure there will be many Australians today who r