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]
Hill was indirectly responsible for the death of many innocent smokers by being the mastermind behind a plan called Plan White coats[citation needed]. This plan was to plant doubts in people's minds by using real scientists who were paid to prove scientists, who truthfully said that smoking lead to lung cancer, wrong. These scientists then later lied in court by saying that smoking does not cause lung cancer while others who sued them were dying and had many lung-related illnesses because of this smoking. Many blamed the innocent smokers but in truth they did not know who to believe as there were real scientists on both sides of the argument.[2][3][cleanup needed]
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 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.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Hill & Knowlton - TobaccoTactics". tobaccotactics.org. Tobacco Control Research Group in the Department for Health at the University of Bath. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "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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