On this day - 4 January
Historical items of interest as featured in the papers of the day.
Hillary reaches South Pole
The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition was the first expedition since Amundsen in 1911 and Scott in 1912 to reach the South Pole. It was a Commonwealth sponsored effort to complete an overland crossing of Antarctica.
Originally Sir Edmund Hillary had not been planned to reach the South Pole and was on the expedition to set up supply drops for others. He spotted the opportunity to beat the British party led by Vivian Fuchs to the pole and so continued on to do so on January 4th 1958.
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.