J. Lister Hill
Encyclopedia
Joseph Lister Hill was a Democratic U.S. Senator
from the state
of Alabama
. He was elected to fill the term left by the resignation of Dixie Bibb Graves
and was reelected five times, serving in the Senate from January 11, 1938 until January 3, 1969. He did not run for a seventh term.
Lister Hill was born in Montgomery, Alabama
on December 29, 1894, the son of one of the South's most distinguished surgeons, Dr. Luther Leonidas Hill. He was named after Dr. Joseph Lister
, the father of antiseptic surgery. Following his graduation from Starke University in Montgomery, he entered The University of Alabama
at age 16, and graduated four years later with a law degree and a Phi Beta Kappa key. While a student at The University of Alabama
, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon
. He also founded the Student Government Association (SGA) and was its first president, the Jasons Senior Men's Honorary (which the University ceased recognizing in 1976 for its all-male policy, but which still taps thirty-six men each spring on the Franklin Mound), and The Machine
(the local chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon).
He also studied law at the University of Michigan Law School
at Ann Arbor and at Columbia Law School
in New York City
. He was admitted
to the Alabama
bar in 1916 and commenced practice in Montgomery, Alabama
, and also served as the president of the Montgomery Board of Education from 1917-1922.
Hill was elected August 14, 1923 as Congressman from the Second District of Alabama
to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John R. Tyson. He served as Chairman of the House Committee on Military Affairs. On January 10, 1938, Hill was appointed to the U.S. Senate
to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Sen. Dixie Graves for the term ending January 3, 1939. Hill was subsequently elected to the Senate as a Democrat on April 26, 1938 and was reelected in 1944, 1950, 1956, and again in 1962. He retired in January 1969.
As a U.S. Senator, Hill was known as a moderate. He distinguished himself in a number of fields, but was best-known for his landmark legislation in the field of public health. Perhaps the best-known legislation which bears his name is the Hospital and Health Center Construction Act of 1946, better known as the Hill-Burton Act
. He also sponsored the Hill-Harris Act of 1963, providing for assistance in constructing facilities for the mentally retarded and mentally ill. Additionally, he was recognized as the most instrumental man in Congress in gaining greatly increased support for medical research at the nation's medical schools and other research institution.
He also sponsored other important legislation, including the TVA Act, the Rural Telephone Act, the Rural Housing Act, the Vocational Education Act, and the National Defense Education Act.
Hill signed "The Southern Manifesto" condemning the Supreme Court's decision in Brown vs Board of Education ordering school desegregation (although he remained a close friend of Supreme Court Justice and fellow Alabamian Hugo Black
, who voted for Brown).
However, Lister Hill was as much a national figure as a representative of Alabama
and the South. During his long years in the Congress, he would, from time to time, break with his southern colleagues to follow his own conscience. For example, in opposition to most southerners in the Congress, he favored federal control of offshore oil with revenue to be earmarked for education.
Hill was the Senate Majority Whip from 1941-1947. He was Chairman of the Senate Labor and Public Welfare Committee, which handled important legislation on veterans education, health, hospitals, libraries, and labor-management relations. He was also a ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and a member of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee.
For his work on Public Health, Hill was awarded the Public Welfare Medal
from the National Academy of Sciences
in 1969. He received honorary degrees from 13 colleges and universities, including the University of Alabama
and Auburn University
. He was a Methodist, a Freemason, a United States Army
veteran of World War I
with the Seventeenth and Seventy-first United States Infantry Regiments, and a member of the American Legion
.
Hill died in Montgomery, Alabama
on December 21, 1984, and is interred in Greenwood Cemetery.
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from the state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. He was elected to fill the term left by the resignation of Dixie Bibb Graves
Dixie Bibb Graves
Dixie Bibb Graves was a United States Senator and former First Lady from the state of Alabama. The first woman Senator from Alabama, she was appointed to the Senate by her husband, then Governor Bibb Graves, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Hugo L. Black...
and was reelected five times, serving in the Senate from January 11, 1938 until January 3, 1969. He did not run for a seventh term.
Lister Hill was born in Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
on December 29, 1894, the son of one of the South's most distinguished surgeons, Dr. Luther Leonidas Hill. He was named after Dr. Joseph Lister
Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister
Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister OM, FRS, PC , known as Sir Joseph Lister, Bt., between 1883 and 1897, was a British surgeon and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, who promoted the idea of sterile surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary...
, the father of antiseptic surgery. Following his graduation from Starke University in Montgomery, he entered The University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
at age 16, and graduated four years later with a law degree and a Phi Beta Kappa key. While a student at The University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...
. He also founded the Student Government Association (SGA) and was its first president, the Jasons Senior Men's Honorary (which the University ceased recognizing in 1976 for its all-male policy, but which still taps thirty-six men each spring on the Franklin Mound), and The Machine
The Machine
The Machine, the former Alpha Rho chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon at the University of Alabama, is a coalition of traditionally white fraternities and sororities which formed a secret society with some degree of influence over campus and Alabama state politics...
(the local chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon).
He also studied law at the University of Michigan Law School
University of Michigan Law School
The University of Michigan Law School is the law school of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Founded in 1859, the school has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, most of whom are seeking Juris Doctor or Master of Laws degrees, although the school also offers a Doctor of Juridical...
at Ann Arbor and at Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He was admitted
Admission to the bar
An admission to practice law, also called admission to the bar, is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. Becoming a lawyer is a widely varied process around the world. Common to all jurisdictions are requirements of age and competence; some jurisdictions also require citizenship...
to the Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
bar in 1916 and commenced practice in Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, and also served as the president of the Montgomery Board of Education from 1917-1922.
Hill was elected August 14, 1923 as Congressman from the Second District of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John R. Tyson. He served as Chairman of the House Committee on Military Affairs. On January 10, 1938, Hill was appointed to the U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Sen. Dixie Graves for the term ending January 3, 1939. Hill was subsequently elected to the Senate as a Democrat on April 26, 1938 and was reelected in 1944, 1950, 1956, and again in 1962. He retired in January 1969.
As a U.S. Senator, Hill was known as a moderate. He distinguished himself in a number of fields, but was best-known for his landmark legislation in the field of public health. Perhaps the best-known legislation which bears his name is the Hospital and Health Center Construction Act of 1946, better known as the Hill-Burton Act
Hill-Burton Act
The Hospital Survey and Construction Act is a U.S. federal law passed in 1946, during the 79th United States Congress...
. He also sponsored the Hill-Harris Act of 1963, providing for assistance in constructing facilities for the mentally retarded and mentally ill. Additionally, he was recognized as the most instrumental man in Congress in gaining greatly increased support for medical research at the nation's medical schools and other research institution.
He also sponsored other important legislation, including the TVA Act, the Rural Telephone Act, the Rural Housing Act, the Vocational Education Act, and the National Defense Education Act.
Hill signed "The Southern Manifesto" condemning the Supreme Court's decision in Brown vs Board of Education ordering school desegregation (although he remained a close friend of Supreme Court Justice and fellow Alabamian Hugo Black
Hugo Black
Hugo Lafayette Black was an American politician and jurist. A member of the Democratic Party, Black represented Alabama in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1937, and served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1937 to 1971. Black was nominated to the Supreme...
, who voted for Brown).
However, Lister Hill was as much a national figure as a representative of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
and the South. During his long years in the Congress, he would, from time to time, break with his southern colleagues to follow his own conscience. For example, in opposition to most southerners in the Congress, he favored federal control of offshore oil with revenue to be earmarked for education.
Hill was the Senate Majority Whip from 1941-1947. He was Chairman of the Senate Labor and Public Welfare Committee, which handled important legislation on veterans education, health, hospitals, libraries, and labor-management relations. He was also a ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and a member of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee.
For his work on Public Health, Hill was awarded the Public Welfare Medal
Public Welfare Medal
The Public Welfare Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "in recognition of distinguished contributions in the application of science to the public welfare." It is the most prestigious honor conferred by the Academy...
from the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
in 1969. He received honorary degrees from 13 colleges and universities, including the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
and Auburn University
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
. He was a Methodist, a Freemason, a United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
veteran of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
with the Seventeenth and Seventy-first United States Infantry Regiments, and a member of the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
.
Hill died in Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
on December 21, 1984, and is interred in Greenwood Cemetery.
External links
- The Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications at the National Institutes of HealthNational Institutes of HealthThe National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
, Bethesda, MarylandBethesda, MarylandBethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
. - The Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences at the University of Alabama at BirminghamUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamThe University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System...
. - Lister Hill article, Encyclopedia of Alabama