Henry B. Hill

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University of Wisconsin-Madison Faculty Document 881
1 April 1991

MEMORIAL RESOLUTION OF THE FACULTY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON

ON THE DEATH OF EMERITUS PROFESSOR HENRY BERTRAM HILL

Henry Bertram Hill, Emeritus Professor of History and the University's first Dean of International Studies and Programs, died on December 6, 1990 in Columbus, Ohio.

He was born in Stoughton, Massachusetts, on March 30, 1907. He earned his B.A. degree at the University of New Hampshire in 1928, the A.M. in 1931 and the Ph.D. in 1933 in Modern European History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Chester Penn Higby as his major professor.

From 1934 to 1948 Professor Hill taught History at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, moving from instructor to full professor. During World War II he was on leave from that institution, serving from 1942 to 1945 as Chief of the Western Europe section of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS, predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency). This was a high-ranking research position. During the 1960's and 1970's, he was a consultant to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare and the Department of State, these assignments being in international education and exchange.

Henry returned to the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a professor of History in 1948, serving until his retirement in 1972. He was chairman of the department from 1955 to 1958. In addition to -teaching and administration on the Madison campus, he was for some years in charge of staffing and supervision of the History departments at the University's two-year centers throughout the state.

A specialist in the constitutional history of France, Dr. Hill was coauthor of Modern France (Princeton University Press, 1951) and of Europe in Review (Rand-McNally, 1957 and 1964); and author and editor of the Political Testament of Cardinal Richelieu (University of Wisconsin Press, 1961, 1972).

In 1962 Professor Hill was named Coordinator of the then expanding international activities of the University and in 1965 was appointed the first Dean of International Studies and Programs. In this post his accomplishments were many. Most noteworthy were the founding of the University's first European Junior Year Abroad programs in Aix-en-Provence, Freiburg, Madrid, and Bologna; his key role in administering a large grant from the Ford Foundation to foster the expansion of international activities and leading to the founding of several important Language and Area Centers; his service as Wisconsin's representative to MUCIA, a consortium of midwest universities to develop assistance programs in various foreign universities; and his service on the Board of Directors of the National Council of International Education and Exchange. The prominent role which Wisconsin now plays in international education and research was made possible by the foundations laid during his deanship.

Henry Hill's grandmother was the author of Cooking for Two, his parents editing later editions of this popular volume. Henry is survived by his wife, the former Marjorie Yourd, author of successful children's books; by a daughter, Jennifer Sharp, a successful artist in Mineral Point, Wisconsin; a son David, an employee in IBM in Seattle, Washington; and by five grandchildren.

Choosing early retirement, the Hills moved to Three Rivers, Michigan, and later to Dublin, Ohio. A dedicated trout fisherman who fished in many countries, wrote articles and collected books in the field, Henry was able to give time to his hobby during his years of retirement. He fell while on a fishing expedition with his son in the summer of 1990, and never fully recovered. Parkinson's disease plagued him in his later years, and was largely responsible for his death last December. At his last request his ashes were scattered in the Yellowstone Park trout streams which had afforded him so much pleasure through the years.

MEMORIAL COMMITTEE
Fred Harvey Harrington, Chair
E. R. Mulvihill
Sieghardt M. Riegel

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