One sheet bearing Hillary's signature, along with a line drawing of two figures climbing a mountain, both in black ink.
Arrangement:
Organized in one file folder.
Biographical / Historical:
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (1919-2008) was New Zealand mountaineer and explorer. As part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay were the first men to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, the highest point on Earth, on May 29, 1953. For this feat, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, while Tenzing received the George Medal, one of Britain's highest civilian awards. Hillary would go on to participate in other expeditions in the Himalayas, as well as an expedition to the South Pole. In 1985, he was appointed New Zealand High Commissioner to India. Hillary also devoted much of his time and energy to various philanthropic causes, particularly those dedicated to preserving the ecology of the Himalayas and improving the living conditions of the Sherpa people. In 1998, Hillary was the recipient of the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal in honor of his "monumental explorations and humanitarian achievements." This autograph drawing was made by Hillary during a press conference at the Freer Gallery on November 16.
Local Numbers:
FSA A1998.09
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
James Smithson Bicentennial Medal: Honoring Jorge Ruiz, 3/16/2006
Collection Creator::
National Museum of Natural History. Office of Guest Services Search this
Container:
Box 10 of 10
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 07-214, National Museum of Natural History. Office of Guest Services, Friday Noon Lecture Program Audiotapes
National Museum of History and Technology. Office of the Director Search this
Extent:
3 cu. ft. (6 document boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Black-and-white photographs
Manuscripts
Clippings
Books
Date:
1953-1978
Descriptive Entry:
These records of special projects in the National Museum of History and Technology (NMHT), as well as throughout the Smithsonian, focus on several major activities,
including the Computer History Project in cooperation with the American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS), the bicentennial celebration of James Smithson's
birth, acquisition of a flag from each of the fifty states, and a proposed historic studies center. Records include press releases; audit reports; minutes of the Advisory
Committee for the Computer History Project; memoranda and correspondence relating to the computer history exhibit, an oral history project on computer history; the role of
the principal investigators in the AFIPS project; newspaper and magazine articles; photographs; correspondence with speakers, foreign and domestic invitees, charitable foundations,
and the International Council of Museums for the Smithson bicentennial; correspondence with governors and other state executive officials concerning the states' flag project;
proposed budgets, correspondence, copies of federal legislation, and proposal for a historic studies center in NMHT; correspondence and memoranda concerning the Atoms for
Peace exhibit by the Atomic Energy Commission; correspondence, memoranda, magazine articles, and photographs relating to a McGraw-Hill publication editorial advocating a
proposed national museum of engineering and industry; speech by Leonard Carmichael, news releases, correspondence, and memoranda concerning a National Conference of Business
Paper Editors; and correspondence and teachers' guidebooks to various Smithsonian exhibit halls for the Washington Area School Study Council.
