Sir Rowland Hill (1795-1879), Postal reformer and civil servant; initiator of the Penny Post

Sitter in 7 portraits
Sir Rowland Hill came from a family of progressive educationalists, and in 1819 he helped his family to establish a school in Edgbaston based on the ideals of representative democracy and competitive capitalism. In 1837 Hill formulated a set of proposals for postal reform, published as Post Office Reform: its Importance and Practicability. He argued that the existing system was too complicated and hindered the expansion of trade and ideas. Hill suggested a uniform postage rate irrespective of distance that was paid in advance by the sender, not the recipient, and proposed a device that became known as the postage stamp. Hill's ideas were implemented in 1840, propelling him from relative obscurity to being a nationally-known figure.