Thomas W. Miller - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Thomas Woodnutt Miller was an American businessman, lawyer and politician, from Wilmington, Delaware

Wilmington, Delaware

Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...

, and Reno, Nevada

Reno, Nevada

Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...

. He was a veteran of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

and a member of the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

, who served as U. S. Representative from Delaware.

Early life and family

Miller was born in Wilmington, Delaware, son of Governor Charles R. Miller

Charles R. Miller

Charles Robert Miller was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware.-Biography:...

and Abigail Morgan Woodnutt Miller. He attended the Hotchkiss School and graduated from Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

in 1908. He was initially employed as a steel roller by the Bethlehem Steel Company in 1908 and 1909.

Political career

Miller worked as secretary to U.S. Representative William H. Heald

William H. Heald

William Henry Heald was an American banker, lawyer and politician, from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party, who served two terms as U. S. Representative from Delaware....

from 1910 until 1912, and during this period studied law in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. He was appointed by his father, Governor Charles R. Miller, to the position of Delaware Secretary of State

Secretary of State of Delaware

The Secretary of State of Delaware is the head of the Department of State of the U.S. state of Delaware. The Department is in charge of a wide variety of public and governmental services, and is divided into the following divisions:* * * * *...

from 1913 until 1915.

Miller was elected to the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

in 1914, defeating incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative Franklin Brockson

Franklin Brockson

Franklin Brockson, was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as U. S. Representative from Delaware.-Early life and family:Brockson was born in Blackbird Hundred,...

. During this term, he served in the Republican minority in the 64th Congress

64th United States Congress

The Sixty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1915 to March 4, 1917, during the third and fourth...

. Seeking reelection in 1916, he lost to Democrat Albert F. Polk

Albert F. Polk

Albert Fawcett Polk was an American lawyer and politician from Georgetown, in Sussex County, Delaware and later, Wilmington, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served as U.S. Representative from Delaware.-Early life and family:Polk was born in Federica, Delaware...

, a lawyer from Georgetown

Georgetown, Delaware

Georgetown is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to 2010 census figures, the population of the town is 6,422, an increase of 38.3% over the previous decade...

. Miller served from March 4, 1915, until March 3, 1917, during the administration of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...

Military career

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Miller enlisted as a private in the Infantry of the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

, and served in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

with the Seventy-ninth Division. He was cited by General John Pershing for "especially meritorious and conspicuous service" in the Meuse-Argonne campaign and awarded the Purple Heart

Purple Heart

The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...

for his service. For this he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and served until discharged in September 1919. Miller was a founder and incorporator of the American Legion

American Legion

The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...

and vice chairman of the Paris caucus in March 1919. He was also Alien Property Custodian

Alien Property Custodian

An Alien Property Custodian was an office within the Government of the United States during World War I and again during World War II, serving as a Custodian of Enemy Property to property that belonged to US enemies.-World War I:...

from 1921 until 1925 and a member of the American Battle Monuments Commission

American Battle Monuments Commission

The American Battle Monuments Commission is a small independent agency of the United States government. Established by Congress in 1923, it is responsible for:...

from 1923 until 1926.

Later life

Miller served in the administration of United States President Warren G. Harding

Warren G. Harding

Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...

, but was convicted in 1927 of conspiring to defraud the U.S. government. He served 18 months in prison. He was paroled in 1929 and pardoned by United States President Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover

Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...

in 1933. At this point Miller moved to Reno, Nevada, where he would spend the rest of his life. There he became the founder of Nevada State parks system and served as chairman of the Nevada State Park Commission in 1935, 1936, from 1953–1959, and from 1967-1973. He also continued his activity in veteran’s affairs as staff field representative of the United States Veterans' Employment Service

United States Department of Veterans Affairs

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...

from 1945 until 1957.

Death and legacy

Miller died in Reno, Nevada, and is buried in the Masonic Memorial Gardens in Reno. His nephew, Clement W. Miller was a U.S. Representative from California from 1959 until 1962.

Almanac

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1. U.S. Representatives took office March 4 and have a two year term.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Public offices
|-
! Office
! Type
! Location
! Began office
! Ended office
! Notes
|-
|Secretary of State of Delaware

Secretary of State of Delaware

|Executive

Executive (government)

Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...

|1913
|1915
|Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

|-
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

|Washington

Washington, D.C.

|March 4, 1915
|March 3, 1917
|

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |United States Congressional service
|-
! Dates
! Congress
! Chamber
! Majority
! President
! Committees
! Class/District
|-
|1915–1917
|64th

64th United States Congress

|U.S. House

United States House of Representatives

|Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

|Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson

|
|At-large

Delaware's At-large congressional district

Delaware's At-large congressional district is a congressional district that includes the entire U.S. state of Delaware.It is currently represented by Democrat John C. Carney, Jr., the former Lieutenant Governor of Delaware.-Voting:-History:...

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
|-
| Year
| Office
|
| Subject
| Party
| Votes
| %
|
| Opponent
| Party
| Votes
| %
|-
|1914
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

Republican Party (United States)

| |22,922
| |50%
|
| |Franklin Brockson

Franklin Brockson

| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |20,681
| |45%
|-
|1916
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

Republican Party (United States)

| |24,202
| |47%
|
| |Albert F. Polk

Albert F. Polk

| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |24,395
| |48%

External links

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...

; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161.
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965.
Historical Society of Delaware; 505 Market St., Wilmington, Delaware; (302) 655-7161.

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