Alex Hill

Alexander Hill (1856 – 28 February 1929) was a medical doctor and professor who was Master of Downing College, Cambridge from 1888 to 1907 and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1897 to 1899. He was Principal of Southampton University College from 1913 to 1920.

A brain specialist, he was the first person to use the term 'neuron' 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.

Early life

Hill was born at Loughton, Essex, England, the son of John Hill, a trader on the London Stock Exchange.

He attended University College School in London and then Downing College, Cambridge, matriculating in 1874, gaining a scholarship, taking first-class honours in the Natural Sciences Tripos in 1877, graduating B.A. 1878, M.A. 1881, M.B. 1882, M.D. 1886. He completed his medical training at St Bartholomew's Hospital.

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 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 to deliver the Rede Lecture 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.