Skip to main content

The best British newspaper archive on the web

On this day - 29 May

Historical items of interest as featured in the papers of the day.

Image for page DExp_1953_06_02_001

First confirmed summit of Mount Everest

Daily Express 29/05/1953

Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first people confirmed to reach the summit of Mount Everest, which they achieved on May 29th 1953. The news of their success reached the UK on the day of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. The news was sent via a coded message.

3 days prior to this, another pair of climbers on the same expedition had attempted the summit but not succeeded. Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans came within 100m of the summit but issues with their oxygen supply left them exhausted and unable to reach the top.

Want to read more about this event and numerous other events from history? A subscription allows you unlimited access to continue reading and to view pages in greater detail. Log in and look at our online shop for prices.

Check back every day to see a different event from history highlighted.