Alex Hill (1956-1929) was Master of Downing 1888-1907. He had first matriculated at Downing in 1874 as a scholar and obtained a first class in the Natural Sciences Tripos. He studied medicine and surgery at St Bartholomew's Hospital and achieved a considerable reputation as an anatomist, returning to Cambridge to work under the Professor of Surgery, Sir George Humphry, a Fellow Commoner at Downing. Alex Hill succeeded Professor Birkbeck as Master in 1888 and was Vice-Chancellor of the University in 1897. He was an energetic and forward looking Master and was largely responsible for the foundation of a university Department of Agriculture. His obituary in The Griffin, Lent 1929, notes that "Dr Hill initiated the system of "College Supervision", especially in Natural Sciences". In 1907 he put forward a scheme to make Downing a graduate college but resigned when it was rejected by the Governing Body.