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About Clifton Hillegass
- Clifton K.
- Hillegass (18 April 1918 in Rising City, Nebraska – 5 May 2001 in Lincoln, Nebraska) was the creator and publisher of CliffsNotes. CliffsNotes are study guides that assist college and high school students in their literature course work.
- CliffsNotes began in 1958 as $1 reprints of Canadian study guides for 16 plays by Shakespeare.
- At that time, Hillegass worked for a major distributor of college textbooks.
- He knew hundreds of campus bookstore managers across the country.
- Those close relationships gave him the first outlets for the Notes.
- Sales expanded rapidly as high school students began to buy the slim yellow and black pamphlets.
- By the early 1970s the company had created additional study aids--exam reviews, course outlines, law school materials, and test preparation kits for the SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT.
- As the company grew, Hillegass kept its headquarters in Lincoln, Nebraska.
- Each year he donated 10% of the pre-tax profits to local charities and civic organizations (which, on his death, received half of his estate).
- Most employees were lifetime Lincoln residents.
- After he sold the company in 1999, Hillegass endowed a chair in English at the University of Nebraska.
- Clifton Hillegass graduated from Midland Lutheran College and then studied physics and geology for two years at the University of Nebraska.
- He later received four honorary degrees.
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