Rowland Hill A.M. (23 August 1745 – 11 April 1833) was a popular English preacher, enthusiastic evangelical and an influential advocate of smallpox vaccination.

[citation needed] Rowland Hill was born at Hawkstone Park (11 miles from Shrewsbury), Shropshire, 23 August 1745, the sixth son of Sir Rowland Hill, 1st Baronet (died 1783), he was educated at Shrewsbury School, Eton College and at St John's College, Cambridge (B.A., 1769),[1] where he came under the influence of the Methodists.

For preaching in the open air in and around Cambridge without a license, Rowland Hill was opposed by the authorities and frequently assaulted by mobs.

During the summer months he would visit other parts of the country, preaching in Scotland and Ireland as well as England and Wales, frequently attracting large crowds.

[2] Hill was on close terms with Edward Jenner, the pioneer of smallpox vaccination, and promoted his own plans to inoculate the congregations he visited or preached to.