Edwin Hill (25 November 1793 - 6 November 1876)I.D. Hill, "Hill, Edwin (1793–1876)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2009. was a Victorian postal official, the older brother of

Rowland Hill Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his soluti ...

, who invented a mechanical system to make envelopes and who campaigned for legal and political change.

Early life

Hill was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire and educated at a school run by his father Thomas Wright Hill where he also taught when older. Later he worked at the Assay Office in Birmingham and then at a Birmingham brass-rolling mill where he became the manager. In 1819 he married Anne Bucknall and they had ten children. In 1827 he moved to Tottenham, London, where he managed a branch of the family school business while Rowland taught.

Stamp Office

In 1840 Hill became the first British

Controller of Stamps Controller may refer to: Occupations * Controller or financial controller, or in government accounting comptroller, a senior accounting position * Controller, someone who performs agent handling in espionage * Air traffic controller, a person ...

and he remained in that position until 1872.

Inventions

Hill was an inveterate inventor of equipment to help the stamp department. He invented a mechanical system to make envelopes which was shown at the

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...

of 1851, the patent for which was bought by Warren de la Rue to whom the machine was attributed. On his retirement a Treasury minute praised Hill's "...resourcefulness and considerable mechanical ability which had contributed so much to the success of the new postage scheme".

Campaigns

Hill was one of the signatories to the notice calling a meeting on 22 January 1817 to petition for parliamentary reform and he campaigned for changes to the law relating to the handling of stolen property.

Death

Hill died at home in London on 6 November 1876 and is buried at Highgate Cemetery.

References

External links

* 1793 births 1876 deaths 18th-century English people 19th-century English people English inventors People from Birmingham, West Midlands Postal history Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge {{postal-stub