Tenzing Norgay (right) and Edmund Hillary after successfully completing the first ascent of Mount Everest
May 12, 2021 By Christian Murray
A street in Elmhurst where many immigrants from Nepal live will be co-named after the famous Nepalese mountain climber Tenzing Norgay.
Council Member Danny Dromm said that 75th Street, between Broadway and Woodside Avenue, will be co-named Tenzing Norgay Sherpa Way.
Norgay is famous for being the first person, along with Edmund Hillary from New Zealand, to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The pair were part of a British expedition in 1953.
Both men were famous in their respective homelands and became role models.
“The Sherpa community is well known for their mountain climbing abilities of Mount Everest,” Dromm said. “It’s important to recognize the contributions of the Sherpa community and culture they have brought to my district.”
Dromm said that Norgay didn’t get the global recognition that he deserved since he did not come from a white/European background, unlike Hillary.
There has been a growing disquiet at the lack of official recognition Norgay has received over the years. For instance, Hillary was knighted by the Queen while Norgay only received an honorary medal.
The Elmhurst street was selected by Urgen Sherpa, president of the United Sherpa Association. It is in a prominent location in the heart of the Sherpa/Nepali community.
Norgay died in 1981 at the age of 71 and Hillary in 2008 at the age 88.
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