The announcement today of the death of Sir Edmund Hillary (b. 1919), New Zealand mountaineer and c0-conqueror of Everest with Tenzing Norgay, reminds of another classic Clinton fib; that Mrs. Clinton was named after Sir Edmund. Mrs. Clinton, on a visit to Nepal in 1995, encountered Edmund Hillary and later told reporters that she was named after the famed climber. This story was discounted much later (2006) by a Clinton spokesperson saying; "....she was not named after Sir Edmund after all....It was a sweet family story her mother shared to inspire greatness in her daughter, to great results I might add.."

The history of this claim is throughly discussed at Snopes.

Tags: snopes,hillary clinton named,edmund hillary,mt everest,hillary clinton mamesake