Les Jones: And Hillary's Nose Grew as Big as a Mountain

June 25, 2004

News > And Hillary's Nose Grew as Big as a Mountain

In his new book, My Life, Bill Clinton repeats the story that Hillary took her name from Edmund Hillary, who along with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first men to climb Mt. Everest. We know that Hillary and Norgay were the first on top of Everest because they took pictures. Hillary Clinton's story, on the other hand, doesn't hold up under even casual scrutiny.

The story has a fundamental problem: Edmund Hillary reached Everest's peak on May 29, 1953, nearly seven years after the infant Hillary arrived in the world.

Oops. Speaking of Everest-related mistakes... The only pictures from the first ascent of Everest show Norgay, but not Hillary. Hillary packed the camera, and it never occurred to him to ask his partner to take a picture of him standing on top of the world's tallest mountain. I suspect he's kicked himself over that one a few times in the last 50 years. He probably consoles himself with the fact that he can see his picture any time he wants on New Zealand's five dollar bill.

Posted by lesjones

Comments

Not quite. The Story is that Hillary's mother told her that when she was a child. She has only ever mentioned it during her 1995 tour where she met Hillary.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/clintons/hillary.asp

A white lie told to a child? A pleasent story made up during a good will tour?

Either way, it has become fodder for those on teh right desperate to discredit this powerful woman any way they can.

Posted by: Nobody at June 27, 2004

Thanks for providing a source, though this is a case where the source isn't exactly friendly to your cause: "Given the available facts, it's difficult to view the claim that Hillary Clinton was named after Edmund Hillary as anything but a little white lie concocted for a special occasion." In other words, the Mikkelsons don't believe it, either.

I don't think it's a huge deal (which an impartial reading of my post reveals), but I invite everyone to read the entry at Snopes.com, where they've researched the matter.

Posted by: Les Jones at June 27, 2004

Sir Edmund Hillary died 10 jan 2008.

Posted by: Bruno at January 10, 2008