Walter Nickerson Hill Papers, 1860-1905

(bulk 1870-1884)

John Hay Library , Special Collections
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Tel: 401-863-2146
email: hay@brown.edu

Published in 2013

Collection Overview

Title:	Walter Nickerson Hill Papers
Date range:	1860-1905, (bulk 1870-1884)
Creator:	Walter Nickerson Hill, 1846-1884
Extent:	4.0 Linear feet
Abstract:	American chemist. Letters and manuscripts; letterpress books; scrapbook; notebooks; documents; pamphlets; photographs; and memorabilia. The bulk of the written material (to, from, and about Hill) dates from 1870-1884. It consists of personal letters between Hill and his wife; letters between Hill and leading scientists and ordinance specialists; letters to and from important political, scientific, and military figures regarding Hill's application for appointment of Professor of Mathematics in the Navy; business correspondence; Hill's patents and pamphlets regarding explosives, demagnetization, etc.; newspaper clippings of Hill's death in an explosion.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library , Special Collections
Collection number:	Ms.Hill

Scope & content

The Walter Nickerson Hill papers consist of approximately 1200 items with inclusive dates: 1860-1905. Included in the collection are letters of correspondence, letters of recommendation, autograph drafts of articles for scientific journals, autograph copies of lectures, printed editions of some of Walter Nickerson Hill's scientific pamphlets, various official documents (e.g., patents), notebooks of Walter Nickerson Hill, two letter press books of Walter Nickerson Hill's correspondence, a scrapbook with inserted autographed letters signed, photographs of the extended Hill family, genealogies, and various items of memorabilia.

The bulk of the written material (to, from, and about Walter Nickerson Hill) dates from 1870 to 1884. It consists of personal correspondence between Walter Nickerson Hill and his wife, Katharine L. (Smith) Hill, scientific correspondence between Walter Nickerson Hill and leading scientists and ordinance specialists of the day; correspondence with influential figures (political, military, and scientific) with regard to Walter Nickerson Hill's application for an appointment as Professor of Mathematics in the Navy; business correspondence (personal and commercial) between Walter Nickerson Hill and business acquaintances.

Some of the more important historical figures included in the collection as recipients and/or authors are the following: Lammot DuPont, explosive industrialist; General Henry L. Abbot, ordinance specialist; Oliver Wolcott Gibbs; Harvard University professor John Trowbridge; and General John T. Wilder, mining industrialist, North Carolina.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Abbot, Henry L.
• Du Pont, Lammot, 1831-1884
• Gibbs, Wolcott, 1822-1908
• Hare, Robert, 1781-1858
• Hill, Katharine Louisa Smith, 1847-1935
• Hill, Walter Nickerson, 1846-1884
• Hopkinson, Francis, 1737-1791
• Nobel, Alfred Bernhard, 1833-1896
• Trowbridge, John, 1843-1923
• Whitcher, W.F.
• Wilder, John Thomas, 1830-1917

Subject Organizations

• E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company-–History
• United States. Navy--History--19th century

Geographical Names

• Torpedo Station, Newport, Rhode Island

Subject Topics

• Chemical engineering--Patents
• Chemical industry--United States--History--19th century
• Engineering design
• Explosives industry--United States--History--19th century
• Explosives, Military
• Explosives--History
• Mechanical engineering--Patents
• Nitroglycerin
• Scientific apparatus and instruments--Patents
• Scientists--Correspondence
• Temperance
• Torpedoes--History
• Torpedoes--United States

Occupations

• Chemists
• Engineers
• Inventors
• Scientists

Document Types

• Clippings
• Ephemera
• Letter books
• Letters (Correspondence)
• Notebooks
• Pamphlets
• Photographs
• memoirs
• Scrapbooks

Subject Topics

• Science and Technology

Arrangement

The Collection is divided into 8 series:

• Series 1. Correspondence
• Series 2. Miscellaneous manuscripts by Walter N. Hill
• Series 3. Notebooks of Walter N. Hill
• Series 4. Miscellaneous documents
• Series 5. Miscellaneous manuscripts by others
• Series 6. Miscellaneous printed material
• Series 7. Photographs
• Series 8. Memorabilia

Items within Series 1 (Correspondence), are arranged alphabetically by name and then chronologically by time. Series 2 (Miscellaneous manuscripts by Walter N. Hill) is arranged alphabetically. Series 3 (Notebooks of Walter N. Hill) and series 4 (Miscellaneous documents) are arranged chronologically. Series 5 (Miscellaneous manuscripts by others) are arranged alphabetically by name. Series 6 (Miscellaneous printed materials) is arranged alphabetically. Series 8 (Memorabilia) is arranged chronologically.

Biographical note

Walter Nickerson Hill was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Albert B. and Elvira Nickerson Hill in 1846. He attended Chauncey Hall, and was awarded an Sc.B. from the Lawrence Scientific School
at Harvard University in 1865.

Hill obtained a position as chemist at the U.S. Torpedo Station
in Newport in 1869. While there, he created a series of new methods of producing explosive compounds and published a number of papers that established his reputation as one of the world's leading experts on explosives. Among other things, Hill invented -- and obtained U. S. patents -- for improved techniques for the manufacture of liquid carbonic acid (1874-5), improved blasting compounds or dynamites (1873-4), improved methods of heating gas for motive power (1875-6), and (with Albert G. Caldwell of Indianapolis) for an apparatus and method of demagnetization (1881). In addition, he produced refinements in both the process and apparatus of producing nitroglycerine and of demagnetization for the purpose of heating gaseous matter for use in motors without causing fire. His pioneering work in motor chemistry led, in 1881, to a job as chemist at the Repauno Chemical Works
, founded by Lammot DuPont, in Gibbstown, New Jersey, where Hill quickly rose to the rank of Superintendant. Tragically, Hill died on March 29, 1884, along with Lammot Dupont and four other men, in an explosion of the nitroglycerin works at the Repauno Chemical Company.

Hill married Katharine Louisa Smith, whose father (Augustus W. Smith) had been the President of Wesleyan University
and a successful instructor of Mathematics. It seems that Hill himself was something of a frustrated mathematician. From 1880 to 1881, he tried unsuccessfully to secure an appointment as Professor of Mathematics in the U.S. Navy.


Katharine and Walter Hill had three children: Perry Childs, Walter Nickerson, and Katherine Ledyard.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested..
Use of the materials:	All the materials in this collection are in the public domain and available for use without restriction.
Preferred citation:	Walter Nickerson Hill Papers, Ms. Hill, Brown University Library.
Contact information:	John Hay Library , Special Collections Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Tel: 401-863-2146 email: hay@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The papers of Walter Nickerson Hill (1846-1884) in the Brown University Library reflect the gift in 1969 of Mrs. Katherine (Hill) Ostrander, daughter of Perry Hill and granddaughter of Walter Nickerson Hill.
Processing information:	The title page image of Walter Nickerson Hill (foreground) as a student in the lab is from Series 7. Photographs. The photograph is identified as Sheffield Lab, Yale University, but it may be misattributed since Hill conducted his undergraduate work at Lawrence Lab, Harvard University.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Edited and expanded in 2005 by Holly Snyder and Lee Pedersen.
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013-03-04

Additional Information

Other information:

Brown University Library catalog record for this collection: Walter Nickerson Hill Papers

Inventory

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