Walter Nickerson Hill Papers (Ms.Hill)

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.