Today in History, May 29th
On May 29, 1953, Hillary and Tenzing reached the summit of Everest. Plus the fall of Constantinople and John F. Kennedy's birth.
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May 29 is best known for 1953, when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The date also marks the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453 and the birth of John F. Kennedy in 1917.
The big story: Hillary and Tenzing reach the top of Everest (1953)
Everest had been beating people for three decades. British teams tried in 1921, 1922 and 1924, when George Mallory and Andrew Irvine vanished near the top. A Swiss team in 1952, with Tenzing Norgay along, reached 28,210 feet, still short of the South Summit. In 1953 a British expedition under Colonel John Hunt took its turn. Three days before the summit, two of its climbers came within 300 feet before their oxygen gear failed. Then New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Tenzing, a Sherpa from Nepal, spent a sleepless, freezing night at 27,900 feet. They passed the South Summit around 9 a.m., worked up a steep rock step later named for Hillary, and stood on the highest point on Earth at about 11:30 a.m. on May 29. The news reached Queen Elizabeth II on June 1, the eve of her coronation. Hillary and Hunt were knighted that year; Tenzing received the British Empire Medal.
More events on May 29
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1453 | Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II captured Constantinople after a siege of about eight weeks, ending the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Constantine XI died in the fighting. |
| 1848 | Wisconsin became the 30th state. Its voters had turned down statehood four times before saying yes. |
| 1851 | Sojourner Truth spoke at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention. No transcript was made, and historians doubt the later “Ain’t I a Woman?” version. |
| 1913 | Stravinsky’s ballet The Rite of Spring premiered in Paris, and the audience whistled, hissed and howled so loudly that some called it a riot. |
| 1942 | Hitler ordered Jews in occupied Paris to wear a yellow star on their coats. |
| 1942 | Bing Crosby recorded Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas,” which became one of the best-selling singles of all time. |
| 2005 | Danica Patrick, 23, became the first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500. She finished fourth and was named Rookie of the Year. |
| 2017 | Manuel Noriega, the Panamanian strongman ousted by the 1989 U.S. invasion, died in Panama City. |
Born on May 29
- 1630: Charles II, king of England, Scotland and Ireland, whose reign gave its name to the Restoration, born in London (Old Style).
- 1736: Patrick Henry, Revolutionary orator and Virginia’s first governor as an independent state, born in Studley, Virginia (May 18, Old Style).
- 1903: Bob Hope, comedian known for decades of USO tours, born near London.
- 1917: John F. Kennedy, 35th U.S. president and the first born in the 20th century, born in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Sources
- Hillary and Tenzing reach Everest summit, History.com
- This Day in History: May 29, History.com
- Fall of Constantinople, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Sojourner Truth delivers her speech, History.com
- On This Day: May 29, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Manuel Noriega, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Charles II, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Patrick Henry, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Bob Hope, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- John F. Kennedy is born, History.com
