Sir Edmund Percival Hillary was a mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He was also the first person to reach both the North Pole and South Pole. Edmond served as a navigator for the Royal New Zeeland Air Force during World War II. He had many interests and in addition to being an explorer he spent time as a beekeeper, lecturer, and served his county as a Governor General and a High Commissioner to India. Following his rise to fame as the first to summit Mount Everest, Edmund devoted much of his life to helping the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust, which he founded. Through his efforts, many schools and hospitals were built in Nepal.