Agnes Sime Baxter was born on March 18, 1870, in
Halifax,
Nova Scotia. The Baxter family had emigrated to
Canada from
Scotland. Her father, Robert Baxter, was manager of the Halifax Gas Light Company, having managed a Scottish electric light company before moving to Nova Scotia. Baxter enrolled at
Dalhousie University in 1887. Her primary courses of study were
mathematics and
mathematical physics. Despite the relative lack of female
scholars in these areas, Baxter received her
bachelor's degree in 1891 and was the first women at the university to gain an honours degree. She received multiple awards at graduation, including the Sir William Young Medal for highest standing in mathematics and mathematical physics. On her death, her husband Albert Ross Hill wanted his wife's memory to be preserved and donated $1,000 to Dalhousie University for the purchase of a collection of books at Dalhousie University. The university also created the Agnes Baxter Reading Room within the Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computing Sciences. == External links ==