North  
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 Laureate
George Watts Hill (Oct. 27, 1901 - Jan. 20, 1993)
Inducted 1993
   Banker, insurance company president, educational supporter, civic leader and healthcare visionary, George Watts Hill was born on Oct. 27, 1901, in New York, New York.		     




   
 Junior Achievement		    He earned his B.S. in Commerce from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1922 and graduated from their law school in 1924. On September 30, 1924, he married Annie Louise Hill.
   Hill joined Durham Loan and Trust in 1926, becaming president in 1932. He served in that position until 1949, when he became chairman of the board. In 1937, the bank was renamed the Durham Bank & Trust Company
   While working at the Durham Bank, he also served as president (1934-39) and then chairman (beginning 1940) of Home Security Life Insurance Company.
   During World War II, he was a major in the U.S. Army working for the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency. 
   In 1959, Hill and others arranged multiple mergers with the bank and the new group was renamed Central Carolina Bank & Trust Company (CCB).
   Among his many community activities, he served as a co-founder (1933) and director of Hospital Care Association, Inc. (which became the first statewide Blue Cross/Blue Shield operation in the country) and Medical Foundation of North Carolina, as well as president of trustees of Watts Hospital (1937-59). He served on the Board of Governors of UNC and donated significant lands for use by UNC and North Carolina State University. He was a founder of Durham Academy and helped create the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. He received the 1984 North Carolina Award for Public Service, as well as honorary degrees from Duke University and UNC.
   He was on the Durham City Council from 1928 to 1936. 
   Hill served on the committees to help create the Research Triangle Park (pictured at left) and served as chairman of the Research Triangle Institute from 1959 to 1993.
  


 

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