All Scholars
MILLER, Walter
- Date of Birth: May 05, 1864
- Born City: Ashland Co.
- Born State/Country: OH
- Parents: Samuel G. & Harriet Romich M.
- Date of Death: July 28, 1949
- Death City: Columbia
- Death State/Country: MO
- Married: Jennie Emerson, 13 Sept. 1888.
- Education:
A.M. U. Michigan, 1884; study at Leipzig, 1884-5; student, ASCSA, 1885-6, 1889-91; LL.D., U. Arkansas, 1916; Litt. D. U. Michigan, 1932.
- Professional Experience:
Instr. Gk. U. Michigan, 1886-7; Lat. & Sanskr., 1887-8; actng. asst. prof., 1888-9; asso. prof. Gk., U. Missouri, 1891-2; prof, class, phil. Stanford, 1892-1902; prof. Gk. Tulane, 1902-7; dean of academic colls. & prof, class, phil., 1907-11; prof. Lat. U. Missouri, 1911-29; dean grad. sch., 1914-30; vis. prof. U. Colorado, 1920; ann. prof. ASCSA, 1925-6; prof, class, langs. & arch., 1929-36; vis. prof. Southwestern U. (Memphis, TN), 1938-9; Washington U. (St. Louis), 1940-1; pres. CAMWS, 1911-2; asso. ed., Southern Educational Review, 1905-12; CJ 1905-33; ed.-in-chief, 1933-5; ed., Standard American Encyclopedia, 1937-40.
- Publications:
"Excavations on the Akropolis of Athens," AJA o.s. 2 (1886) 61-5; "The Theatre of Thoricus, Preliminary Report," Papers of the ASCSA, 1885-64 (Boston, 1888); Latin Prose Composition for College Use. Part I, based on Livy xxi-xxii (1890); Part II, based on Cicero, Cato Major and Laelius (Boston, 1891); 2d ed. of both, 1909; "A History of the Akropolis," AJA ser. 1, 9 (1893) 473-556; Key to Latin Prose Composition (Boston, 1894); "Johannes Overbeck (Obituary)," AJA ser. 1, 11 (1896) 361-70; Pausanias and His Guidebook (New York, 1895); "Scientific Names of Latin and Greek Derivation," Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci., 3d ser., Zoology, 1, no. 3 (1897) 115-43; "The Roman Religion," Progress 3, no. 4 (1897) 344-57; "The Old and the New" (commencement address, Stanford), (Palo Alto, 1898); "The Early History of the Northern Fur Seals," trans, of G. W. Stellar, De Bestiis marinis, in coll. with J. E. Miller, in The Fur-Seals and Fur-Seal Islands of the North Pacific Ocean, Part 3, ed. D.S. Jordan (Washington, DC, 1899) 179-218; "The Practical Side of Classics," Southern Educational Review 4 (1907) 96-112; "The Classics and Modern Training," New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal 61, 12 (June 1909) 992-1011; Cicero. De Offlciis (trans.) LCL (London & New York, 1914); "Dulce et Decorum Est pro Patria Mori" (commencement address, U. Missouri), Missouri Alumnus 7,7 (May 1919) 131-2; "Thericles, Potter, in the Light of Greek Drama," TAPA 52 (1921) 119-31; "The American School of Classical Studies at Athens," CJ 20 (1924-5) 419-22, 21 (1925-6) 217-8; Daedalus and Thespis. The Contribution of Ancient Dramatic Poets to our Knowledge of the Arts and Crafts of Greece, vol. 1: Architecture and Topography (New York, 1929); vol. 2: Sculpture, U. Missouri Studies 6, nos. 3-4 (1931); vol. 3: Painting and Allied Arts, U. Missouri Studies 7, nos. 1-2 (1932); "Who Was Erastus?", Bibliotheca Sacra 88 (1931) 342-6; "The Athenian Agora," Art and Archaeology 32 (1931) 99-108, 175-84, ibid. 33 (1932) 20-23, 29, 86-94; "The Pronunciation of Greek and Latin Proper Names in English," a 30 (1934-5) 325-34; "The Centenary of Athens University," JHS 57 (1937) 80-1; Greece and the Greeks. A Survey of Greek Civilization (New York, 1941); The Iliad: A Line by Line Translation in Dactylic Hexameters (trans.) with W. B. Smith (New York, 1944); "How I Became a Captain in the Greek Army," in Louis E. Lord, A History of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens 1882-1942 (Cambridge, 1947) 278-94.
- Notes:
Walter Miller distinguished himself as a classical philologist, archaeologist, translator, editor, and book reviewer. While studying in Leipzig he was strongly influenced by Johannes Overbeck and this experience, together with his study in Athens, instilled in him the desire to connect archaeological evidence with the literary tradition.Miller was an energetic, enthusiastic, and demanding teacher who was able to instill a love of antiquity in several generations of college students. As is attested by Philological Studies in his honor, a number of his students pursued careers as classical scholars. His physical vigor, strong convictions, and general temperament stand out in his "How I Became a Captain in the Greek Army." In this essay Miller describes both the assault and robbery he suffered during a walking tour of Greece and his dogged and successful efforts to bring those responsible to justice. He exhibited this same force of character throughout his life.Miller published on a variety of classical topics. He was particularly prolific after he relinquished his position as Dean of the Graduate School in 1930. His translations of Cicero's De Officiis and Xenophon's Cyropaedia in the LCL are still in print. In collaboration with William B. Smith he produced a translation of the Iliad in hexameters that was very well received at the time of its publication. His interest in connecting literary and archaeological evidence is apparent in many of his major books and articles.
- Sources:
J. A. Agnell, "Foreword," Philological Studies in Honor of Walter Miller, ed. R. P. Robinson, U. Missouri Studies 11, 3 (1936) 5-7; W. E. Gwatkin, Jr., CJ 45 (1949-50) 285-7; S. B. Luce, AJA 2d ser. 54 (1950) 73; Missouri Historical Review 44, 1 (Oct. 1949) 91-2; NYTimes (29 July 1949) 22; School and Society 70 (6 Aug. 1949) 70; Time (8 Aug. 1949) 67; WhAm 2:374.
- Author: Robert A. Seelinger
