Barry Bishop (deceased)

In 1961, Barry Bishop made the first ascent of the Himalayan peak Ama Dablam. Two years later, he was one of the first Americans to summit Mount Everest, but he lost his toes and the tips of both pinky fingers on Everest during an unplanned bivouac high on the mountain after their ascent. President John F. Kennedy awarded Hubbard Medal to the team, a distinguished award from National Geographic. Though he stopped climbing, Bishop worked as a photographer, writer and educator with the National Geographic Society. He earned a Ph.D. in geography and, until his retirement in 1994, served as vice chairman, then chairman, of National Geographic's Committee for Research and Exploration. That same year, Bishop died in an automobile accident near Pocatello, Idaho.