Thomas Hill (January 7, 1818 – November 21, 1891) was an American Unitarian clergyman, mathematician, scientist, philosopher, and educator.

Biography

Taught to read at an early age, Hill read voraciously and was well regarded for his capacious and accurate memory. His father taught him botany, and he took a delight in nature and devised scientific instruments, one that calculated eclipses and was subsequently awarded the Scott Medal by the

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...

. Though not formally educated in his youth, Hill briefly attended the Lower Dublin Academy in Holmesburg, Pennsylvania and the Leicester Academy in Massachusetts, now the Leicester campus of

Becker College Becker College was a private college in Worcester and Leicester, Massachusetts. Becker College traced its history from the union of two Massachusetts educational institutions—one founded in 1784 and the other in 1887. The college closed at t ...

, leaving in 1837. He earned his A.B. and D.Div. from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1843 and 1845 respectively. He was later made an honorary member of the

Hasty Pudding Hasty pudding is a pudding or porridge of grains cooked in milk or water. In the United States, it often refers specifically to a version made primarily with ground ("Indian") corn, and it is mentioned in the lyrics of "Yankee Doodle", a tradit ...

. Hill was president of

Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its ...

from 1860 to 1862 until the Civil War forced the college to shut down; he then held the presidency of

from 1862 to 1868. Ill health caused his retirement from Harvard, and from 1873, he was head of the Unitarian parish in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

. In 1863, he was elected as a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. Hill claimed to have injured his testicle while gardening, an incident that made him wary of laboratory instruction at Harvard, warning students not to exert themselves too much in their studies. Hill's home in

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, ...

, where he began his career, is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

References

External links

Biography, part of a series of Harvard's Unitarian Presidents

Book: The True Order of Studies

John Scott Medal, Franklin Institute

Hill Arithmometer

1818 births 1891 deaths American Unitarians Presidents of Harvard University Presidents of Antioch College Antioch College Harvard Divinity School alumni Leicester Academy alumni {{US-academic-administrator-stub