A brilliant mathematician, Agnes Baxter Hill reportedly edited the work of Professer James Oliver for publication after his death.

Agnes Sime Baxter was born in Halifax, NS, in 1870 to Robert (b. 1844) and Jennett Baxter (b. 1846), Scottish immigrants. Robert was a manager for the Halifax Gas Light Company, and the family was relatively affluent. Agnes entered Dalhousie University in 1887 to study mathematics and mathematical physics at a time when there were very few women studying in these subjects at the university level. In 1891, she graduated with a first-class honours BA: she was both the recipient of the Sir William Young Medal as the honours student with the highest standing and the first woman to graduate with an honours degree in mathematics from Dalhousie. The following year, she completed her MA at Dalhousie and began her studies in mathematics at Cornell University. There, she held the Erastus Brooks fellowship and worked under the renowned mathematician Professor James Edward Oliver. In 1895, Agnes became the second Canadian woman to earn a PhD in mathematics; her thesis was titled . Dr. Oliver died that same year, and Agnes remained at Cornell while she edited his mathematical notes for publication; the actual text has not been located.

In 1896, Agnes married fellow Nova Scotian Dr. Albert Ross Hill (1869-1943), a professor of psychology and education, who had also attended both Dalhousie and Cornell. The two moved to Lincoln, NB, where Albert took a post at the University of Nebraska. Agnes and Albert had two daughters together, Jessie (1897-1996) and Esther (b. c1903). Despite her PhD, Agnes did not teach at university; at the end of her life, her husband stated that she had chosen "to assist in my educational work instead of making an independent record for herself." In 1917, after a brief illness, she died at the age of 47. She was remembered in her obituary as one of Dalhousie's "outstanding graduates, remarkable alike for her intellectual attainments and for her character." Her husband donated money in her name to Dalhousie University, and the Agnes Baxter Reading Room opened in March 1988.

For a more detailed biography, see her entry in the .