No, he was not the first man to climb Mount Everest. The first expedition that is known to have reached the top (and return) consisted of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, who did it when Messner was 9 years old.
Reinhold Messner (despite the Germanic-sounding name, he's actually from Italy, and he's not from a noble family so there's no "von") was one of the first two men to summit Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen, and he was also the first to solo Mount Everest (which he also did without supplemental oxygen). He's a pioneering figure in mountaineering, but not because he was the first to climb Everest without qualifying phrases added.
Reinhold Messner was not the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest, that was Edmund Hillary in 1953. Reinhold was the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest without artificial oxygen with Peter Habler on the 8th May 1978.
Reinhold Messner was the first person to climb Mount Everest alone (solo). He reached the summit on the 20th August 1980.
Did Reinhold Messner survive his climb on Mount Everst
The first to reach the summit of Mount Everest without artificial oxygen were Reinhold Messner and Peter Habler on the 8th May 1978.
The first to reach the summit of Mount Everest without artificial oxygen were Reinhold Messner and Peter Habler on the 8th May 1978.
The first Italian to reach the summit of Mount Everest without artificial oxygen was Reinhold Messner on the 8th May 1978.
Reinhold Messner from Italy was the first person to have reached the summit of Mount Everest and K2. Mount Everest 8th May 1978 K2 12th July 1979
The first person to make a solo attempt to climb Mount Everest was Reinhold Messner. He reached the summit by himself on the 20th August 1980.
Reinhold Messner was the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest as a 'solo' climb. He did so on the 20th August 1980.
The first to reach the summit of Mount Everest without artificial oxygen were Reinhold Messner and Peter Habler on the 8th May 1978.
The first to reach the summit of Mount Everest without artificial oxygen were Reinhold Messner and Peter Habler on the 8th May 1978.
No he was not. Reinhold Messner was the first person to climb Mount Everest without artifical oxygen in 1978.