Hill, Dorothy (1907-1997), an Australian geologist and educator, made important contributions to paleontology. Paleontology is the scientific study of animals, plants, and other organisms that lived in prehistoric times. Hill’s research included important works on prehistoric marine invertebrates (animals without backbones), including corals and archaeocyathids (extinct, spongelike creatures). Hill greatly advanced the scientific study of the Great Barrier Reef . The Great Barrier Reef consists of more than 3,000 individual coral reefs that extend about 1,400 miles (2,300 kilometers) along the northeast coast of Australia .
Hill was born on Sept. 10, 1907, in Brisbane. Her love of the outdoors and the influence of her first geology professor led her to study geology at the University of Queensland , where she graduated in 1928. She was awarded a scholarship to Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, where she received her Ph.D. degree in 1932. She returned to Australia in 1937, where she took a research position at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, now called the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). She also lectured at the University of Queensland. During World War II (1939-1945), Hill served in the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service, where she worked on codes. From 1959 to 1972, she was research professor in geology at the University of Queensland.
Throughout her career, Hill worked to develop and promote the study of geology and paleontology in Australia. She was the first woman elected as a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 1956, and she served briefly as the first woman president of the academy in 1970. In 1965, she became the first Australian woman elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London. She was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1971. She was named Companion of the Order of Australia in 1993. Hill died on April 23, 1997.
