John W. Hill Explained

John W. Hill
Birth Date:	26 November 1890
Birth Place:	Near Shelbyville, Indiana
Death Place:	New York City
Known For:	Founder of Hill & Knowlton

John Wiley Hill (November 26, 1890 – March 17, 1977) was an American public relations executive. He co-founded Hill & Knowlton with Donald Knowlton in 1933.^[1]

Life and career

Hill worked as a journalist for 18 years, eventually becoming an editor and financial columnist. Hill moved to public relations in 1927, opening a firm in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1933, he brought in Donald Knowlton and began their firm. It eventually became the world's largest public relations firm.

The campaign paid scientists to publicly counter the claims of other scientists who said that smoking led to lung cancer. These scientists then later falsely testified to that effect in court when they were sued by smokers who were dying or suffering from lung-related illnesses due to smoking.^{[2] [3]}

Hill died in Manhattan of a brain tumor.^[4]

External links

• John W. Hill (r) and Don S. Knowlton, of the public relations firm of Hill & Knowlton, giving testimony before the Senate Civil Liberties Committee on steel company public relations campaign via United States Library of Congress
• John Wiley Hill (1890 - 1977) via Public Relations Society of America

Notes and References

1. Miller, Karen S. (1999). The Voice of Business: Hill & Knowlton and Postwar Public Relations. University of North Carolina Press,
2. Web site: How They Made Us Doubt Everything. 2020-08-09. www.bbc.co.uk.
3. Web site: Hill & Knowlton - TobaccoTactics. 2020-08-09. tobaccotactics.org. Tobacco Control Research Group in the Department for Health at the University of Bath. en.
4. News: JOHN W. HILL, 86, DIES; LED HILL & KNOWLTON; Founder of the World's Largest Public Relations Firm Was a Corporate Confidant . March 18, 1977 . . November 30, 2012 .