Lester S. Hill

Lester S. Hill was an American mathematician and educator who was interested in applications of mathematics to communications. He received a bachelor's degree in 1911 and a master's degree in 1913 from Columbia College and a doctorate from Yale University in 1926. Over his career he taught at the University of Montana, Princeton University, the University of Maine, Yale University and Hunter College. Among his notable contributions was the Hill cipher, which bears his name. He also developed methods for detecting errors in telegraphed code numbers and wrote two books on his subject. He lived from 1891 to 1961.