Samuel Hill - Scholarly Pursuits

Scholarly Pursuits

Hill graduated from Haverford College (also his father's alma mater) in 1878 and attended Harvard University for a year to receive a second bachelor's degree in 1879. At Haverford he studied Latin, Greek, French and German as well as math, science, English literature, logic, rhetoric, and political science. At Harvard he continued his Latin and history ("Colonial History of America" under Henry Cabot Lodge) and studied forensics and philosophy ("German Philosophy of the Present Day" and "Advanced Political Economy"). Despite attending only one year, he became an extremely active Harvard alumnus, joining (and, at times, leading) Harvard Clubs in several cities both in the U.S. and participating for several years in the Board of Overseers even though it necessitated several transcontinental trips each year to attend meetings.

Hill was fluent in German, French, and Italian. He also learned at least a moderate amount of Russian. In the early 20th century, he was the only American member of the Geographic Society of Germany.

Hill served for a time as vice president of the Minneapolis Athenaeum, and recruited George Putnam as its librarian in 1884. In 1907, he gave them a collection of Chinese prints. He eventually acquired all the stock of the Athenaeum Company, which he donated to the Minneapolis Foundation.

From 1902 to 1914, Hill repeatedly commissioned, and gave as gifts, high-quality globes of German manufacture. He continually gathered harbor soundings (depths) and information about ocean temperatures in order to map ocean currents; he had this information added to custom-made globes.