3-074-995 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Sir Rowland Hill, the author of the Penny Postage, 1890. 'The life and services of Rowland Hill furnish another illustration of the innate strength of the British character, with its indomitable energy, courage, and perseverance; and they also show that there is no station of life from which a man may not rise to benefit his fellow-men. Now that the unparalleled advantages of the Penny Post are universally recognised, it is well to remember our indebtedness to the author of this great reform; and it is an especially appropriate circumstance that the jubilee of penny postage should occur at this season of the year, when millions of missives are passing through the post bearing Christmas and New Year's greetings'. G. Barnett Smith. Rowland Hill (1795-1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his solution of pre-payment, facilitating the safe, speedy and cheap transfer of letters. Hill later served as a government postal official, and he is usually credited with originating the basic concepts of the modern postal service, including the invention of the postage stamp. From "Illustrated London News", 1890.