Add Your Piece of History… 20th July

• On this day in 1919.  The first man to summit Mt Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary, is born.  Edmund Hillary was born in Tuakau, south of Auckland, New Zealand.  Hillary’s interest in climbing was sparked at age 16 during a school trip to Mt Ruapehu.  Hillary became the first explorer to reach the summit of Mt Everest at 11:30am local time on the 29th of May 1953.  He was accompanied by Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay, as part of a British expedition led by John Hunt.  Hunt and Hillary received knighthoods on their return.  Sir Edmund Hillary died of heart failure at Auckland City Hospital on the 11th of January 2008.  A state funeral was held, attended by thousands.
  
  
• On this day in 1969.  Astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the moon.  Apollo 11 was launched on the 16 July 1969 and passed behind the Moon on the 19th July, firing the SPS rocket to enter lunar orbit.  In the several orbits that followed, the crew had passing views of their landing site.  While on the far side of the Moon, the lunar module, named Eagle, separated from the Command Module, named Columbia.  After the lunar module separated from the command module, the Eagle landed on the moon’s surface at 09:18 GMT on the Sea of Tranquillity, while astronaut Michael Collins remained in orbit above.  Astronaut Neil Armstrong uttered the words, “That’s one small step for man but one giant leap for mankind”.  Armstrong described the surface as being like powdered charcoal.  Fellow astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface 20 minutes later.  They planted the American flag at 03:41 GMT, and later unveiled a plaque bearing President Nixon’s signature and an inscription which read: “Here men from the planet earth first set foot upon the Moon July 1969 AD.  We came in peace for all mankind.”

Please feel free to add your piece of history (something personal or general history).

Tenzing and Hillary. Photo from the collection of John Henderson. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Apollo 11 crew portrait. Left to right are Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Neil Armstrong photographed by Buzz Aldrin after the completion of the Lunar EVA on the Apollo 11 flight (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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