George R. Hill III

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For people with similar names, see George Hill.

George Richard Hill III (24 November 1921 – 22 April 2001) was an American chemist and a world authority on coal. In his retirement, Hill was a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1987 to 1992.

Hill was born in Ogden, Utah to George R. Hill, Jr. and Elizabeth McKay. Both his parents were deans of colleges at the Utah State University. Hill's uncle was David O. McKay, ninth president of the LDS Church.

Hill earned a degree in chemistry from Brigham Young University and went on to earn a doctorate at Cornell University in 1946. In 1951, the University of Utah invited Hill to start the school's Department of Fuels Engineering. From 1966 to 1972, Hill also served as the dean of the College of Mines and Mineral Industries at the University of Utah. In 1972, he was appointed the head of the Office of Coal Research in the United States Department of the Interior. In 1977, he returned to the University of Utah as the Envirotech Professor of Chemical Engineering. Hill published over one hundred papers in academic journals and was the recipient of the Henry H. Storch Award from by the American Chemical Society. He also received an honorary doctorate degree from Brigham Young University.

In the LDS Church, prior to his call as a general authority, Hill was a bishop three times and a Regional Representative of the Twelve Apostles. From 1967 to 1971, Hill was a member of the general superintendency of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association of the LDS Church, where he served under G. Carlos Smith and W. Jay Eldredge. In 1987, he became a member of the church's First Quorum of the Seventy. In 1989, he was transferred into the newly-created Second Quorum of the Seventy, and held this position until he was released in 1992. During his tenure, Hill served in the presidencies of the Philippines/Micronesia and the Utah South Areas of the church.

Hill had a life-long involvement with the Boy Scouts of America and was awarded the Silver Buffalo Award from the Boy Scouts. He has also received the Silver Beaver and Silver Antelope Awards.

Hill was married to Melba Parker and was the father of seven children.