# Tenzing Norgay

_Nepalese Indian Sherpa mountaineer (1914-1986)_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/tenzing-norgay
Last updated: 2026-10-21

> Tenzing Norgay, born Namgyal Wangdi, and also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Tibetan-Nepalese-Indian mountaineer, of Bhutia ethnicity, not Sherpa as if often assumed. On 29 May 1953, he and Edmund Hillary were the first people confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest, as part of the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition. Time named Norgay one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 29 May 1914 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80732#P569))
- **Place of birth:** Tengboche ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80732#P19))
- **Died:** 9 May 1986 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80732#P570))
- **Place of death:** Darjeeling ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80732#P20))
- **Citizenship:** Nepal; India ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80732#P27))
- **Occupation:** explorer; mountain guide; autobiographer; mountaineer ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80732#P106))
- **Spouse:** Dawa Phuti; Ang Lahmu; Dakku ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80732#P26))
- **Awards:** George Medal; Padma Bhushan; Order of the Star of Nepal; Grande Médaille d'Or des Explorations ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80732#P166))

## Early life and education

- According to many later accounts, including a book co-written by his son Jamling Tenzin Norgay, he was born in Tibet, at Tse Chu in the Kama Valley, and grew up in Thame, Nepal. ([National Geographic Society](https://archive.org/details/everestmountainw00cobu/page/112), [Thames Sherpa Fund](http://www.thamesherpafund.org/about-1))
- Norgay went to Nepal as a child to work for a Sherpa family in Khumbu. ([The Observer](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/dec/24/books.booksnews), [Nepali Times](http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/nepalitimes/pdf/Nepali_Times_147.pdf), [The Telegraph, Calcutta](https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/sixty-years-of-the-dream-conquest/cid/1289402), [sherpals.com](http://www.sherpals.com/))
- Khumbu lies near Mount Everest, which the Tibetans and Sherpas call Chomolungma; in Standard Tibetan, that name means "Holy Mother", or the goddess of the summit. ([netflix.com](http://www.netflix.com/WiPlayer?movieid=22303843&trkid=&tctx=))
- Tenzing was originally called "Namgyal Wangdi", but as a child his name was changed on the advice of the head lama and founder of Rongbuk Monastery, Ngawang Tenzin Norbu. "Tenzing Norgay" translates as "wealthy-fortunate-follower-of-religion". ([Oxford Dictionary of National Biography](http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/50064))
- Tenzing ran away from home twice in his teens, first to Kathmandu and later to Darjeeling, India (which at that time was the starting point for most expeditions in the eastern Himalayas), and eventually acquired Indian citizenship. ([The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/tenzing-gets-a-new-name/articleshow/4327707.cms))
- He was once sent to Tengboche Monastery to become a monk, but he decided that was not for him and left. ([Princeton University Press](https://books.google.com/books?id=wLgim3BZ5mwC&q=norgay+Tengboche&pg=PA112))

## Key decisions and achievements

- In 1938, after Norgay's third Everest expedition as a porter, the Himalayan Club awarded him its Tiger Medal for high-altitude work. ([Oxford Dictionary of National Biography](http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/50064))
- He also received later that year, along with the rest of the Everest party, the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal, bearing the additional inscription 'Mount Everest Expedition'. ([official website of the British Royal Family](https://www.royal.uk/50-facts-about-queen-elizabeth-iis-coronation), [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/29/everest-anniversary-tenzing-norgay))
- King Tribhuvan of Nepal awarded Norgay the distinction of Member 1st Class of the Order of the Star of Nepal (Supradipta‑Manyabara‑Nepal‑Tara) in 1953. ([Achievement.org](http://www.achievement.org/achievers/hil0/large/hil0-038.jpg))
- In 1959, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award of India. ([Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India](http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf))
- Indian Mountaineering Foundation presented him with its gold medal. ([hmidarjeeling.com](https://hmidarjeeling.com/legendary-mountaineers-of-hmi/))
- On 1 March 1963, Norgay was awarded the honorary title of "Merited Master of Sport of the USSR" by the Soviet Union, becoming the first foreigner to receive this distinction. ([Press Information Bureau, Government of India](https://archive.pib.gov.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/EDUCATION/1963-JAN-MARCH-EDUCATION/PDF/EDU-1963-03-03_130.pdf))

## Notable statements

- In May 2013, Norgay's grandson, Tashi Tenzing, said he believed his grandfather should have been knighted, not just given "a bloody medal". ([The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/29/everest-anniversary-tenzing-norgay), [3 News NZ](http://www.3news.co.nz/Tenzing-should-have-been-knighted/tabid/417/articleID/299631/Default.aspx))

_Cited sentences quoted from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tenzing_Norgay&oldid=1381145741), CC BY-SA 4.0._

## Questions

**When was Tenzing Norgay born?**  
Tenzing Norgay was born on 29 May 1914 in Tengboche.

## Related

- [Tengboche](https://diginpl.com/places/tengboche)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Tenzing Norgay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenzing_Norgay) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikipedia (Nepali): तेन्जिङ नोर्गे शेर्पा](https://ne.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%99%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%87_%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%BE) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q80732](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80732) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Tenzing Norgay (cropped).jpg by SAS Scandinavian Airlines (Public domain)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tenzing_Norgay_(cropped).jpg)
- [Wikipedia (English), revision used for cited facts: Tenzing Norgay](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tenzing_Norgay&oldid=1381145741) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [National Geographic Society: Everest : Mountain Without Mercy](https://archive.org/details/everestmountainw00cobu/page/112)
- [Thames Sherpa Fund: Leadership (1 March 2016)](http://www.thamesherpafund.org/about-1)
- [The Observer: Secret past of the man who conquered Everest (24 December 2000)](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/dec/24/books.booksnews)
- [Nepali Times: The Fortunate Son (30 May 2003)](http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/nepalitimes/pdf/Nepali_Times_147.pdf)
- [The Telegraph, Calcutta: Sixty years of the dream conquest (6 April 2014)](https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/sixty-years-of-the-dream-conquest/cid/1289402)
- [sherpals.com: Honours: Honours for Tenzing (7 October 2014)](http://www.sherpals.com/)
- [netflix.com: Everest (1998)](http://www.netflix.com/WiPlayer?movieid=22303843&trkid=&tctx=)
- [Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Tenzing Norgay \[Sherpa Tenzing] (1914–1986) (2004)](http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/50064)
- [The Times of India: Tenzing gets a new name (28 March 2009)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/tenzing-gets-a-new-name/articleshow/4327707.cms)
- [Princeton University Press: Life and Death on Mt. Everest: Sherpas and Himalayan Mountaineering](https://books.google.com/books?id=wLgim3BZ5mwC&q=norgay+Tengboche&pg=PA112)
- [official website of the British Royal Family: 50 facts about Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation](https://www.royal.uk/50-facts-about-queen-elizabeth-iis-coronation)
- [The Guardian: Everest anniversary: Tenzing Norgay's grandson calls for 'gesture' from Britain (29 May 2013)](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/29/everest-anniversary-tenzing-norgay)
- [Achievement.org: Tenzing Norgay photograph](http://www.achievement.org/achievers/hil0/large/hil0-038.jpg)
- [Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India: Padma Awards (2015)](http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf)
- [hmidarjeeling.com: Legendary Mountaineers of HMI – Himalayan Mountaineering Institute](https://hmidarjeeling.com/legendary-mountaineers-of-hmi/)
- [Press Information Bureau, Government of India: Highest Russian Award for Shri Tenzing Norgay: Soviet Union Honours Everest Hero (3 March 1963)](https://archive.pib.gov.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/EDUCATION/1963-JAN-MARCH-EDUCATION/PDF/EDU-1963-03-03_130.pdf)
- [3 News NZ: Tenzing 'should have been knighted' (30 May 2013)](http://www.3news.co.nz/Tenzing-should-have-been-knighted/tabid/417/articleID/299631/Default.aspx)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Tenzing Norgay, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Tenzing Norgay (cropped).jpg — SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Public domain.

## Cite this page

"Tenzing Norgay". DigiNepal. Last updated 21 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/tenzing-norgay. Retrieved 21 October 2026.