Robert C Hill

Robert Hill was born in Littleton, New Hampshire in 1917. He attended Dartmouth College as a member of the Class of 1942, and began his diplomatic career as a vice consul to India in 1943. In 1953, President Eisenhower appointed Hill Ambassador to Costs Rica, and a year later, to El Salvador. In 1957, he was again appointed as an Ambassador, this time to Mexico. Popular and well-liked in all his posts, Hill was the first American diplomat to visit each of Mexico's 26 states. Recognized as an able executive in Washington, Robert Hill served in several positions on Capitol Hill between diplomatic posts. For example, at various times he served as a special assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Mutual Security Affairs, Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations, and Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. Hill's final Ambassadorship was to Argentina, at a time when that country's internal affairs were being torn asunder by terrorism and political unrest. Correspondence and official documents from that post provide an excellent view of this unfortunate period of Argentina's history. Once, for example, the Embassy residence was machine-gunned while the Ambassador watched from behind bullet-proof windows. The tension of living under such unstable conditions undermined Hill's health, and he resigned from the post in 1977; he returned to his home in Littleton, where he died in 1978.