John W. Hill
John W. Hill | |
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| Born | November 26, 1890 Near Shelbyville, Indiana |
| Died | March 17, 1977 (aged 86) |
| 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.
Hill was the mastermind behind a plan called Plan White coats[citation needed], designed to sow doubt in the minds of the public about the threats of tobacco smoking. 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]
References[]
- ^ Miller, Karen S. (1999). The Voice of Business: Hill & Knowlton and Postwar Public Relations. University of North Carolina Press, ISBN 978-0-8078-2439-9
- ^ "How They Made Us Doubt Everything". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
- ^ "Hill & Knowlton - TobaccoTactics". tobaccotactics.org. Tobacco Control Research Group in the Department for Health at the University of Bath. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
- ^ "JOHN W. HILL, 86, DIES; LED HILL & KNOWLTON; Founder of the World's Largest Public Relations Firm Was a Corporate Confidant". New York Times. March 18, 1977. Retrieved November 30, 2012. (subscription required)
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
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- 1890 births
- 1977 deaths
- Public relations pioneers
- People from Shelbyville, Indiana
- American business biography, 1890s birth stubs