Robin Hill (biochemist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Hill
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Robert Hill FRS
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Robert Hill
2 April 1899 Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, United Kingdom
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| Died | 15 March 1991 (aged 91) |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
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| Fields | Biochemistry |
| Notable students | Frederick Whatley David Alan Walker (postdoc) |
| Influences | Frederick Gowland Hopkins |
| Influenced | Brian S. Hartley |
Robert Hill (2 April 1899 – 15 March 1991), often called Robin Hill, was a British scientist who studied how living things work at a chemical level. He made a huge discovery in 1939 about photosynthesis. This is the process plants use to make their own food.
Hill proved that plants release oxygen during the part of photosynthesis that needs light. This discovery is now known as the 'Hill reaction'. He also helped explain the 'Z-scheme', which describes how energy moves during photosynthesis.
Early Life and Learning
Robert Hill was born in New Milverton, a town in Warwickshire, England. From a young age, he was very curious about the world. He went to Bedales School, where he became interested in biology (the study of living things) and astronomy (the study of space). He even wrote a paper about sunspots when he was just 18 years old!
Later, he studied Natural Sciences at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. During the First World War, he worked in a special department of the army that dealt with anti-gas measures.
A Career in Science
In 1922, Hill joined the Department of Biochemistry at Cambridge University. His first research was on hemoglobin, a protein in our blood that carries oxygen. He published several papers about it. In 1926, he started working with another famous scientist, David Keilin, studying a protein called cytochrome c.
In 1932, Hill began to focus on plants. He was especially interested in photosynthesis and how chloroplasts (the parts of plant cells that do photosynthesis) release oxygen. This led to his famous discovery, the 'Hill reaction'.
From 1943, Hill's research was supported by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC). Even though he retired from the ARC in 1966, he continued his research at Cambridge until he passed away in 1991. In his later years, he explored how the Second Law of Thermodynamics applies to photosynthesis.
Beyond the Lab
Robert Hill was not just a brilliant scientist; he had many other talents! He was an expert on natural dyes, which are colors made from plants. He even grew plants like madder and woad to extract his own pigments. He used these pigments to paint beautiful watercolours.
In the 1920s, he invented a special camera called a fish-eye camera. He used it to take amazing 3D pictures of the entire sky, capturing cloud patterns in a new way.
Awards and Special Recognition
Robert Hill received many important awards for his scientific work.
- In 1946, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK. His election certificate praised his work on hemoglobin and photosynthesis. It noted that he was the first to show how hemoglobin could be rebuilt from its parts. It also highlighted his discovery that isolated chloroplasts could produce oxygen when exposed to light, even without CO2. This showed how important the light-dependent part of photosynthesis is.
- He was given the Royal Medal in 1963.
- He received the Copley Medal in 1987, one of the oldest and most prestigious science awards in the world.
The Robert Hill Institute at the University of Sheffield was named after him. He also received an honorary degree from the university in 1990.
