Henry A. Hill was an expert on polymers , with a particular interest in resins, rubber, and plastics. Conscious of the limited opportunities for African Americans in the sciences in the 1940s and 1950s, Hill turned adversity to advantage and held a number of management positions in the chemical industry before starting his own company, Riverside Research Laboratory . Hill was frequently sought out by his colleagues for a range of consulting and advisory positions. He was responsible for developing guidelines for employers in the chemical industry, and was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson to the National Commission on Product Safety. In 1977 Hill served as president of the American Chemical Society.

Henry Aaron Hill was born May 30, 1915, in the small river town of St. Joseph, Missouri. His undergraduate education was completed at Johnson C. Smith University, a liberal arts school in North Carolina. Hill received a B.S. in chemistry...