George Francis Hill

Sir George Francis Hill KCB (22 December 1867 – 18 October 1948) was the Director and Principal Librarian of the British Museum (1931–1936).^[1] He was a specialist in Renaissance medals.

Early years

George Hill was born in Berhampur, India. His grandfather, Micaiah Hill, founded the London Missionary Society's outpost there and his father, Samuel John Hill, was stationed and where he was born. He attended Blackheath College (later known as Eltham College) followed by University College, London, and finally Merton College, Oxford.^[2] He studied under Percy Gardner at Merton, taking a first class degree in classics.^[2] There he also gained an interest in numismatics.

Career

In 1893, Hill joined the British Museum in the Coins and Medals Department. At that time, the Department was the center of study of Greek coins. Hill continued the work of Barclay Head and Reginald Poole; in 1897 published the first volume of a catalogue of Greek coins. Hill subsequently produced catalogs on many of the British Museum's collections in his area. In 1912, he became Keeper of the Department.^[2] In 1931, he was appointed Director and Principal Librarian of the British Museum.^[2] Whilst director, he purchase the Codex Sinaiticus from the Soviet Union and, with the Victoria and Albert Museum, the George Eumorfopoulus oriental antiquities collection.

Hill was editor of the Journal of Hellenic Studies from 1898 to 1912. He was knighted in 1933.^[2]

Personal life

In 1924, he married Mary Paul,^[2] whose parents lived in Rome, Italy. He retired in 1936 and died in London in 1948.^[3][4]

Bibliography

• Hill, George Francis, Historical Greek Coins, London : Archibald Constable and Co., 1906.
• Ward, John, Greek Coins and their Parent Cities, London : John Murray, 1902. (accompanied by a catalogue of the author’s collection by Sir George Francis Hill)

References

1. Hill, George Francis, Sir, Dictionary of Art Historians.
2. Levens, R.G.C., ed. (1964). Merton College Register 1900-1964. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. p. 213.
3. Obituary: Sir George Hill, Deep and Wide Learning. The Times, page 7, 20 October 1948.
4. John L. Myres, 'Sir George Hill, K.C.B.'. Nature, Volume 162, Issue 4123, pages 725–726, 1948. doi:10.1038/162725b0

External links

• Works by George Francis Hill at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about George Francis Hill at Internet Archive
• Books by George Francis Hill
• Digital Library Numis (DLN) Online numismatic books and articles