Christopher Hill

Born in York, Christopher Hill entered Balliol College, Oxford in 1931. In 1932 he was awarded Lothian Prize[?], and got a first-class honour and All Souls Fellowship two years later. Later in Balliol, Hill became a Marxist and jonined the Communist Party. He also spent one year in the Soviet Union in 1935.

After coming back from Moscow, he went back to Balliol as a fellow and tutor of modern history. In 1940 he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry. Late he also joined the intelligence corps during World War II. About at this time, Hill started to publish his articles and reviews about 17th century England history. He also took part in a debate among many Marxist historians in 1940.

In 1946, Hill and many other Marxist historians formed the Communist Party Historians Group[?]. However, Hill soon became dicontent with the lack of democracy in the Communist Party. He left the party in 1956, after one of his report was rejected.

After 1957, Hill's career ascended to new heights. His studies on 17th century English history were widely acknowleged and recognised. In 1965, Hill defeated the rest and was elected the master of Balloil. He held the post from 1965 to 1978, when he retired.

Much of Hill's most notable studies were focused on the history of 17th century English history. Some of his books includes Economic Problems of the Church(1955), Puritanism And Revolution(1958), Intellectual Origins of the English Revolution(1965 and revised in 1996), The Century of Revolution(1961), AntiChrist In 17th-century England(1971) and many others.

Hill passed away on February 24, 2003, 18 days after his 92nd birthday.

External Links

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,3604,902955,00