This Week In National Press Club History: 25th anniversary of merger celebrated

June 24, 2010: The 25th anniversary of the merger of the Washington National Press Club and the National Press Club is commemorated at an elegant reception in the Holeman Lounge.

June 26, 1992: Sir Edmund Hillary addresses a Club luncheon. In 1953, at the age of 33, with his climbing partner, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, Hillary became the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, almost six miles above sea level. He told the Club that climbing Everest has become largely a commercial, money-making opportunity; if you are reasonably fit and have $35,000 you can be conducted to the summit. Hillary joins the list of notable environmentalists, including Jane Goodall, Sylvia Earle, Bob Ballard and Richard Leakey, who have addressed the Club.

This Week In National Press Club History is brought to you by the History & Heritage Committee, which preserves and revitalizes the Club’s history through displays, events, panel discussions and its oral history project.

For more information on the Committee’s activities, or to join the Committee, contact Gilbert Klein at [email protected]