HILL, AARON (1685-1750), English author, was born in London, the son of George Hill, of Malmesbury abbey, Wiltshire. On leaving Westminster school at 14 he was sent to travel in the Near East. After his return in 1709 he engaged in all kinds of commercial enterprises, wrote a play, and was for a brief time a theatrical manager. In 1730 he wrote The Progress of Wit, being a caveat for the use of an Eminent Writer. The "eminent writer" was Pope, who had introduced him into The Dunciad as one of the competitors for the prize offered by the goddess of Dullness, though the satire was qualified by an oblique compliment. Hill died on Feb. 8, 175o. The best of his plays were Zara (acted i 735) and Merope (1749), both adaptations from Voltaire. He also published two series of periodical essays, The Prompter and, with William Bond, The Plaindealer (1724)• The Works of the late Aaron Hill, consisting of letters . original poems. . . . With an essay on the Art of Acting appeared in 1753, and his Dramatic Works in 176o. His Poetical Works are included in Anderson's and other editions of the British poets. A full account of his life is provided by an anonymous writer in Theophilus Cibber's Lives of the Poets, vol. v.