George Leigh Mallory and Andrew Irvine were two English mountaineers who took part in a British expedition to Mount Everest in 1924. On the 8th June, both disappeared somewhere high on the North-East ridge during (or perhaps after completing) the final stage of their attempt to make the first ascent of the world's highest mountain, 29 years before Hillary and Norgay. The pair's last known sighting was only a few hundred metres from the summit. Mallory's ultimate fate was unknown for 75 years, until his body was finally discovered in 1999. Whether or not they reached the summit before they died remains a subject of speculation and continuing research.