Dame Elizabeth Mary Hill DBE (born Yelizaveta Fyodorovna Hill;

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

Елизаве́та Фёдоровна Хилл; 24 October 1900 – 17 December 1996) was a Russian-born

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

academic linguist. In addition to a career with the London University School of Slavonic Studies, she was course director of the

Joint Services School for Linguists The Joint Services School for Linguists (JSSL) was founded in 1951 by the British armed services to provide language training, principally in Russian, and largely to selected conscripts undergoing National Service. The school closed with the endi ...

(JSSL), a UK Government training programme to produce linguists and interpreters of Russian, for military and intelligence purposes.Anthony Cross, ‘Hill, Dame Elizabeth Mary (1900–1996)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 20 April 2013
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Background

Hill was born on 24 October 1900 in

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, the fifth of six children (and second of the three daughters) of Frederick William Hill (1860–1924), and his wife, born Luise Sophie Olga Wilhelmine Müller (1862-1928). Her father was a businessman: members of the English Hill family had been trading with Russia since the middle of the eighteenth century. Her mother was a product of the large German-speaking community in Russia. The family had fled the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

s in 1917 in fear for their lives. Elizabeth celebrated her seventeenth birthday on the ship that carried them away. They relocated to London where they found themselves suddenly all but destitute.

Career

Often known as "Lisa", Hill worked in several language teaching jobs before entering

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, where she gained a First-class degree in Russian in 1924 and a PhD in 1931. Her first university appointment came in 1936, when she succeeded A.F.Goody as university lecturer in

Slavonic studies Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics, is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic peoples, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or Slavicist was ...

at Cambridge. According to her "Who's Who" entry, she was a "Ministry of Information Slavonic Specialist during he War of 1939-45" Hill trained military recruits in Russian. A fellow of

Girton College Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the univ ...

, in 1948, she became the first Professor of Slavonic Studies at 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 ...

. She held this position until 1968.

Personal life

In 1984, Hill married Stojan Veljkovic, described by one source as a "Serbian aristocrat", but the marriage was dissolved in 1995, shortly before she died. Hill was noted for her 'capacity for long-standing friendships', especially with Doris Mudie, whom Hill first met in the late 1920s in London. In 1936, when Hill had gained her first lectureship, Mudie was reportedly 'penniless' and had suffered the first in a series of nervous breakdowns. Their friendship endured to the end of Mudie's life.Elliott & Shukman, pp. 17-18 Professor Hill is buried in the grounds of the church of St. Andrew & St. Mary,

Grantchester Grantchester () is a village and civil parish on the River Cam or Granta (river), Granta in South Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about south of Cambridge. Name The village of Grantchester is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as ''Granteset ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Elizabeth 1900 births 1996 deaths Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Academics of the University of Cambridge Russian emigrants to the United Kingdom British women linguists 20th-century British linguists

Background

Career

Personal life

Further reading

References