Alexander Hill (1856 – 28 February 1929) was a medical doctor and professor who was Master of

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to the university between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the oldest of ...

from 1888 to 1907 and

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

from 1897 to 1899. He was

Principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

Southampton University College The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities in the United K ...

from 1913 to 1920.Royal College of Surgeons, Biography of Fellows, 13 April 2012, accessed 24 August 2013
/ref>''The University of Southampton'' (1962) A. Temple Patterson, Southampton University Press, ASIN: B0000CLFGC A brain specialist, he was the first person to use the term '

neuron A neuron (American English), neurone (British English), or nerve cell, is an membrane potential#Cell excitability, excitable cell (biology), cell that fires electric signals called action potentials across a neural network (biology), neural net ...

' in English to describe the nerve cell and its processes, in his 1891 translation of a German paper summarizing the lectures of

Heinrich Wilhelm Gottfried von Waldeyer-Hartz Heinrich Wilhelm Gottfried von Waldeyer-Hartz (6 October 1836 – 23 January 1921) was a German anatomist, known for summarizing neuron theory and for naming the chromosome. He is also remembered by anatomical structures of the human body which ...

Early life

Hill was born at

Loughton Loughton () is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England, the son of John Hill, a trader on the London Stock Exchange. He attended

University College School University College School, also known as UCS, is a private day school in Frognal, Hampstead, London, England. The school was founded in 1830 by University College London and inherited many of that institution's progressive and secular views. ...

in London and then

, matriculating in 1874, gaining a scholarship, taking first-class honours in the

Natural Sciences Tripos The Natural Sciences Tripos is the framework within which most of the science at the University of Cambridge is taught. The tripos includes a wide range of Natural Sciences from physics, astronomy, and geoscience, to chemistry and biology, whi ...

in 1877, graduating

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

1878,

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

1881, M.B. 1882,

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

1886. He completed his medical training at

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by ...

Career

Elected a Fellow of Downing College in 1880, Hill lectured on the histology and anatomy of the brain. He was Hunterian Professor at the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ...

from 1884 to 1885. He was Master of Downing College from 1888 to 1907 and Vice-Chancellor of the university from 1897 to 1899. As Vice-Chancellor, he startled some critics by inviting the actor Sir

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

to deliver the

Rede Lecture The Sir Robert Rede's Lecturer is an annual appointment to give a public lecture, the Sir Robert Rede's Lecture (usually Rede Lecture) at the University of Cambridge. It is named for Sir Robert Rede, who was Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in th ...

in 1898. Irving was awarded an honorary Litt.D., prompting one Cambridge graduate to request that the Vice-Chancellor erase his name from the university register. Elected a member of

The Physiological Society The Physiological Society, founded in 1876, is an international learned society for physiologists with headquarters in the United Kingdom and Ireland. History The Physiological Society was founded in 1876 as a dining society "for mutual benefit ...

in 1885, Hill was also a founding member of the Neurological Society of London in 1886, serving as the society's President in 1896. He was appointed

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional certification, professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an wikt:intercollegiate, ...

in 1907.

University College Southampton

Hill was appointed a commissioner for the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

in 1901 to report on universities and colleges. In 1902 he carried out an inspection of Southampton University College for the University Commission with a colleague, with a further inspection in 1907. This followed the

Education Act 1902 The Education Act 1902 ( 2 Edw. 7. c. 42), also known as the Balfour Act, was a highly controversial act of Parliament that set the pattern of elementary education in England and Wales for four decades. It was brought to Parliament by a Conserva ...

.''The Education Act 1902, How to Make the Best of It'' The Fabian Society, accessed 24 August 2013
/ref> The commissioners found insufficient money for local student accommodation; poor entry criteria which were well below normal university entry standards; teaching not up to university standard; and poor buildings not up to university teaching standards. With the threat of failing to continue with university college status, the financial situation was improved with local money from Southampton Borough Council and

Hampshire County Council Hampshire County Council (HCC) is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hampshire in England. The council was created in 1889. The county council provides county-level services to eleven of the thirteen districts geo ...

. Although in retirement, and with some hesitation, Hill was persuaded to undertake the rallying of a badly shaken college and building it into a university. In 1912 Hill accepted the position of Principal and took office in January 1913. In a short period Hill changed the whole situation and won the confidence of staff, students and college council. New appointments and expansion into new fields, including Economics backed with an external

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

BSc, Pharmaceuticals, Civil and Mechanical Engineering and also Architecture and building. For improved accommodation a lease was taken out on Highfield Hall, a former country house overlooking

Southampton Common Southampton Common is a large open space to the north of the city centre of Southampton, England. It is bounded by the districts of Shirley, Bassett, Highfield and Portswood. The area supports a large variety of wildlife, including one of t ...

, but only for a limited number of staff and students. Hill and his family also occupied a house on the site. In spring 1914, plans were made for a larger Hall of Residence. In early summer an arts block with 28 large and many smaller lecture rooms and a connecting block for biology, chemistry, physics and engineering opened on 20 June. Then, eight days later, the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

began, with profound implications for the future of the university. The war prevented the move from Hartley College to Highfield campus for five years and disrupted Hills plans. The new buildings were given over to the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

for use as a hospital, as was Highfield Hall for the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. During the war Hill acted as Medical Officer to the Red Cross hospital and made channel crossings on hospital ships tending to the wounded. Student numbers and finances suffered severely. It was 1919–1920 when the War Office had finally moved out and the new buildings could be occupied at last and Highfield Hall re-occupied and the move to the Highfield campus made, after which Hill resigned.

Personal life

In 1878 he married Emma Woodward and they had a son and daughter. He died at Southampton; his wife survived him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Alexander People educated at University College School Masters of Downing College, Cambridge Vice-chancellors of the University of Cambridge 1856 births 1929 deaths People associated with the University of Southampton Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England

Early life

Career

University College Southampton

Personal life

See also

References