Hill, Knox C(alvin) 1910-2005

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born December 15, 1910, in Oak Park, IL; died February 3, 2005, in Hyde Park, IL. Philosopher, musician, educator, and author. Hill was a longtime philosophy professor at the University of Chicago. Early in life he demonstrated a talent for the piano and organ, and he majored in music at the University of Chicago, earning a bachelor's degree in 1930 and a master's degree in 1936. During the 1930s, he was an organist and choir master for churches in the Chicago area, as well as an assistant at the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel at the University of Chicago. While studying philosophy at the University of Chicago, World War II began and he enlisted in the U.S. Army as an officer. He saw action in Italy and North Africa, attained the rank of lieutenant colonel, and received the Bronze Star for his service. Returning home after the war, Hill continued with his studies while also teaching at the university. Completing his Ph.D. in 1954, he became a full professor in 1962. Remaining at the university his entire career, he organized an introductory three-course sequence to the humanities in the areas of art, literature, and music. The recipient of the prestigious Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Teaching Prize for excellence in undergraduate teaching from the university in 1953, Hill became director of the undergraduate philosophy department and served as secretary of faculties from 1969 until 1980. In addition to his teaching and love of music, Hill was also well known at the university as an avid poker player, and he would organize long tournaments among his colleagues and friends. A former editor of the Journal of General Education during the late 1950s, he was the author of Interpreting Literature: History, Philosophy, Fiction, Drama, Rhetoric (1966).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, February 16, 2005, section 3, p. 10.

ONLINE

University of Chicago News Office Web site, http://www-news.uchicago.edu (February 5, 2005).