Whittaker, James Warren (1929-…), became the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He reached the top of the world’s highest peak on May 1, 1963, with Sherpa guide Nawang Gombu. They were the first of three U.S. teams to scale the peak in a single month. Whittaker was born in Seattle. He was a mountain guide in the United States before the Everest expedition.
