Sir Arthur William Hill (11 October 1875, in

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

– 3 November 1941, in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

) was Director of the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

, and a noted botanist and taxonomist. The only son of Daniel Hill, he attended

Marlborough College ( 1 Corinthians 3:6: God gives the increase) , established = , type = Public SchoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = Nicholas Holtam , head_label = Master , head = Louis ...

where his interest in natural history was encouraged by the classical master and entomologist,

Edward Meyrick Edward Meyrick (25 November 1854, in Ramsbury – 31 March 1938, at Thornhanger, Marlborough) was an English schoolmaster and amateur entomologist. He was an expert on microlepidoptera and some consider him one of the founders of modern m ...

. Hill went on to

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, where he came under the influence of Marshall Ward and Walter Gardiner, acquiring an MA and DSc. His numerous field trips started with the expedition of the English geographer, William Bisiker

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, to

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

in 1900. This was followed by exploration of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

in Bolivia and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

in 1903, sparking an interest in

cushion plant A cushion plant is a compact, low-growing, mat-forming plant that is found in alpine, subalpine, arctic, or subarctic environments around the world. The term "cushion" is usually applied to woody plants that grow as spreading mats, are limited in ...

s which was to last throughout his life, and the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

in 1911. In 1907 he joined Kew as Assistant Director under Sir

David Prain Sir David Prain (11 July 1857 – 16 March 1944) was a Scotland, Scottish botanist who worked in India at the Calcutta Botanical Garden and went on to become Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Life Born to David Prain, a saddler, and ...

, and started contributing to the floras of Africa and India. In 1922 he succeeded Prain as Director. With grants from the Empire Marketing Board, Hill was able to send botanists all over the world, himself visiting Australia, New Zealand, Malaya,

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of So ...

, East Africa, India,

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...

and the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. His interests were not confined to taxonomy, but extended to

Economic Botany ''Economic Botany'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that covers all aspects of economic botany. The editor-in-chief is Robert A. Voeks (California State University, Fullerton). The journal was established in 1947 and is published by ...

, of which he was an enthusiastic proponent, and all the other activities of Kew. He managed a large number of changes in the Gardens, despite having to operate in the post-war austerity climate. Some of his greatest successes were in building, renovating, and extending glasshouses, being responsible for the new Rhododendron House in 1925–26, an improved Economic House in 1930 and the South African Succulent House in 1936. He was elected an Honorary Member of the Royal Society of New Zealand during his 1928 visit, returning to London to lecture the

Linnaean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature col ...

in 1929 on natural hybrids in New Zealand. He published a joint paper with

Brian Laurence Burtt Brian Laurence "Bill" Burtt FRSE FLS (27 August 1913 – 30 May 2008), was an English botanist and taxonomist who is noted for his contributions to the family Gesneriaceae. In a career that spanned 74 years, he worked first at the Royal Botanic ...

in 1935 on the cushion plant genera ''

Gaultheria ''Gaultheria'' is a genus of about 135 species of shrubs in the family Ericaceae. The name commemorates Jean François Gaultier of Quebec, an honour bestowed by the Scandinavian Pehr Kalm in 1748 and taken up by Carl Linnaeus in his '. These pla ...

'' and ''

Pernettya ''Gaultheria'' is a genus of about 135 species of shrubs in the family Ericaceae. The name commemorates Jean François Gaultier of Quebec, an honour bestowed by the Scandinavian Pehr Kalm in 1748 and taken up by Carl Linnaeus in his '. These pl ...

'' (now included in ''Gaultheria'') from alpine habitats in Asia, North and South America, and Australasia. Hill never married and died on 3 November 1941 in a riding accident.

Works

*William Bisiker, Arthur William Hill
''Across Iceland''
With Illustrations and Maps and an Appendix By A.W. Hill on the Plants (Edward Arnold, London, 1902) *''The Distribution and Character of Connecting Threads in the Tissues of

Pinus sylvestris ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and or ...

and other Allied Species'' (Phil Trans, 1901) *''The Histology of the Sieve-Tubes of

Pinus A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden ...

'' (Ann Bot, 1901) *''The Histology of the Endosperm during Germination in

Tamus communis ''Dioscorea communis'' or ''Tamus communis'' is a species of flowering plant in the yam family Dioscoreaceae and is commonly known as black bryony, lady's-seal or black bindweed. Description It is a climbing herbaceous plant growing to 2–4 m ...

and Galium tricorne'' (with W Gardiner) (Proc Camb Phil Soc, 1902) *''The Histology of the Sieve-Tubes of

Angiosperms Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants ...

'' (Ann Bot, 1908) *''On the Structure and Affinities of a Lepidodendroid Stem'' (with A C Seward) (Trans Roy Soc Edin, 1900) *''The Morphology and Seedling Structure of the Geophilous Species of ''

Peperomia ''Peperomia'' is one of the two large genera of the family Piperaceae. It is estimated that there are at least over 1,000 species, occurring in all tropical and subtropical regions of the world. They are concentrated in northern South America an ...

'', together with some views on the Origin of Monocotyledons'' (Ann Bot, 1906) *''Floral Mechanism of the Genus

Sebaea ''Sebaea'' is a genus of annual plants in the family Gentianaceae. Species occur in Africa, Madagascar, India, China, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. The genus was paraphyletic and has been split in four genera: '' Exochaenium'', '' Klackenb ...

'' (ibid, 1913)
''Studies in Seed Germination – the Genus Marah''
(ibid, 1916) (See '' Marah''.) *''The History of

Primula ''Primula'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. They include the primrose ('' P. vulgaris''), a familiar wildflower of banks and verges. Other common species are '' P. auricula'' (auricula), '' P. veris'' (cow ...

obconica under Cultivation'' (Journ of Genetics, 1912) *''Notes on a Journey in Bolivia and Peru around

Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; es, Lago Titicaca ; qu, Titiqaqa Qucha) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. By volume of water and by surface area, i ...

'' (Scottish Geol Journ, 1905)
''South America in its relation to Horticulture''
(Journ Roy Hort Soc, 1911)
''A Visit to the West Indies''
(Kew Bulletin, 1912) *''The Acaulescent Species of Malvastrum'' (Journ Linn Soc, 1909) *''A Revision of the Geophilous Species of

'' (Ann Bot, 1907) *''

Gentianaceae Gentianaceae is a family of flowering plants of 103 genera and about 1600 species. Etymology The family takes its name from the genus ''Gentiana'', named after the Illyrian king Gentius. Distribution Distribution is cosmopolitan. Characteristi ...

'' (Flora Capensis, 1909) *''

Santalaceae The Santalaceae, sandalwoods, are a widely distributed family of flowering plants (including small trees, shrubs, perennial herbs, and epiphytic climbersHewson & George t al.br>''Santalaceae'' taxonomy, 1984, pp. 191-194.) which, like other mem ...

'' (ibid, 1915)
''The Genus Thesium in South Africa''
(Kew Bull 1915) (See '' Thesium''.)
''The History and Functions of Botanic Gardens''
(Ann Missouri Bot Gardens, 1915)

Honours, achievements and awards

*Awarded

Veitch Memorial Medal The Veitch Memorial Medal is an international prize issued annually by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). Goal The prize is awarded to "persons of any nationality who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement and improvement o ...

, (1936) *Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1922) *Dean of King's College, Cambridge, and University Lecturer in Botany *Fellow of the Linnaean Society (1908) *Fellow of the Royal Society

External links

*Correspondence to Arthur William Hill as Director of The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is being made available online through th
Directors' Correspondence Project

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Arthur William English botanists English taxonomists 1875 births 1941 deaths Botanists active in Kew Gardens Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Fellows of the Royal Society Veitch Memorial Medal recipients Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George 19th-century British botanists 20th-century British botanists Deaths by horse-riding accident in England