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Biography of Tenzing NorgayName: Tenzing NorgayBirth Date: May 15, 1914 Death Date: May 9, 1986 Place of Birth: Solo Khumbu, Nepal Nationality: Nepalese Gender: Male Occupations: mountaineer Tenzing Norgay Tenzing Norgay (1914-1986) was a well-known Nepalese mountaineer who set a record in 1952 by climbing 28,215 feet of Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. The following year he and Edmund Hillary became the first persons to reach its summit.Tenzing Norgay was born on May 15, 1914 in Solo Khumbu, Nepal, a member of the Sherpa tribe. Sherpas have long been known for their positive spirit, strength, and mountain skills. When Europeans began exploring the Himalayas in the early part of the 20th century, they usually came to Darjeeling, India, and hired Sherpas to assist with their expeditions. Before long, this custom became an official system. Sherpas were registered as an elite force of expedition assistants. In Nepal, where Westerners were forbidden to go, Sherpas heard about this work and each year more young men headed to Darjeeling in search of jobs with mountaineering expeditions.In 1933, Tenzing went to Darjeeling, hoping to …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…although he did write several books by dictating them to others. In his autobiography Tiger of the Snows, he wrote, "It has been a long road. From a mountain coolie, a bearer of loads, to a wearer of a coat with rows of medals who is carried about in planes and worries about income tax." Tenzing Norgay died on May 9, 1986 in Darjeeling, India. Further Reading Shipton, Eric, Mountain Conquest, American Heritage Publishing Co., 1996.Unsworth, Walt, Everest: A Mountaineering History, Houghton Mifflin, 1981."First to Summit," www.pbs.org, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/history/firstsummit.html (November 11, 1999)."Sherpas on Everest," www.pbs.org http://web-cr05.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/history/sherpason.html (November 11, 1999)."Tenzing Norkay," www.funkandwagnalls.com, http://www.funkandwagnalls.com/encyclopedia/low/articles/t/t025000594f.html (November 11, 1999)."Tiger of the Snows," www.pbs.org, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/history/norgay.html (November 11, 1999). |