Liquid Carbonic Acid, Its Preparation and the Construction of Vessels to Contain It

US-RPB-mshill Walter Nickerson Hill Papers1860-1905 (bulk 1870-1884) Finding aid prepared by Edited and expanded in 2005 by Holly Snyder and Lee Pedersen. Brown University Library

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

2002 Oct 4 This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013-03-04 English Walter Nickerson Hill Papers Ms.Hill John Hay Library Special Collections

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

English 4.0 Linear feet (bulk 1870-1884) 1860-1905 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. Walter Nickerson Hill, 1846-1884 Hill (Walter Nickerson) Papers 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.

Collection information

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..

All the materials in this collection are in the public domain and available for use without restriction.

Walter Nickerson Hill Papers, Ms. Hill, Brown University Library.

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.

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.

Administrative information

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.

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.

RESOURCES AT BROWN UNIVERSITY

Copies of the following publications by Walter Hill can be found in Series 6 (Miscellaneous printed material), Box 11. They are not listed in the PDF that corresponds to Series 6: Liquid Carbonic Acid, Its Preparation and the Construction of Vessels to Contain It (Newport: U. S. Torpedo Station, 1875) Notes on Certain Explosive Agents (Boston: John Allyn, 1875) - NB: previously published, in slightly different form, as Notes on Explosives and their Application to Torpedo Warfare (Newport: U. S. Torpedo Station, 1875) "Electro-Dynamometer for Measuring Large Currents," American Journal of Science, Vol. XIX (January 1880), pages 10-16 Magnetism: Electro-Magnetism and Induction (Newport: U. S. Torpedo Station, 1881) "On the Heat Produced in Iron and Steel by Reversals of Magnetism" (with Professor John Trowbridge), Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1883, pages 197-204

Papers of Hill's father-in-law are held by Brown University Library and are retrievable by the following collection number: Papers of Augustus William Smith (1802-1866), 1816-1918, Ms. Smith

RESOURCES AND WEBSITES AT OTHER INSTITUTIONS

Papers of Hill's wife are held at Harvard University: Papers of Katharine Louisa Smith Hill (1847-1935), 1800-1967, Schlesinger Library, Harvard Unversity

General information on the Repauno Chemical Works in New Jersey is available from these three sites: Aldrich, Mark. "Explosives and Safety on the Railroad." Working Knowledge, Harvard Business School. September 16, 2002. DuPont Heritage History of the Gibbstown (N.J.) Fire Company

Information on patents by Walter Nickerson Hill is obtainable by searching the patent numbers from the patents available in Series 4 (Miscellaneous documents) at the: U. S. Patent & Trademark Office

Additional information

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

Names Abbot, Henry L. Du Pont, Lammot, 1831-1884 E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company-–History 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 United States. Navy--History--19th century Whitcher, W.F. Wilder, John Thomas, 1830-1917 Torpedo Station, Newport, Rhode Island Subjects 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 Types of Materials Clippings Ephemera Letter books Letters (Correspondence) Notebooks Pamphlets Photographs memoirs Scrapbooks RIAMCO Browsing Term Science and Technology Correspondence Series 1 1860-1905 Anonymous - DuPont, Lammot 1871-1891 Scope and Contents note