Overview
Alton Lombard Miller (1890-1984), manufacturing executive, received his Harvard AB in 1911. The collection chiefly documents Miller's student life and academic career at Harvard from 1907 to 1918. It also includes a small amount of personal items such as grammar and secondary school report cards and photographs of Miller with his family. Additional records in the collection include photographs and other Harvard memorabilia accumulated by Miller for the twenty-fifth (1936) and fiftieth (1961) reunions of the Class of 1911.
Dates
- Creation: 1897-1936, 1946, 1961 and undated
Researcher Access
The Alton Lombard Miller personal archive is open for research. Access to fragile original documents may be restricted. Please consult the Public Services staff for further details.
Copying of fragile materials may be limited.
Extent
1.7 cubic feet (5 flat boxes, 2 portfolio folders, 1 half-document box)This collection chiefly documents the student life and academic career of Alton Lombard Miller at Harvard from 1907 to 1918. It also includes a small amount of personal items such as grammar and secondary school report cards and photographs of Miller with his family. Miller's class notebooks, PhD dissertation, and MA thesis provide a glimpse into his academic studies in mathematics, physics, and geometry at Harvard. Moreover, the collection contains several pieces of Harvard ephemera such as membership cards, baseball tickets, a Harvard banner, and watch fob that offer some insight into Miller's activities as a student at Harvard. Additional records in this collection include photographs and other Harvard memorabilia accumulated by Miller for the twenty-fifth (1936) and fiftieth (1961) reunions of the Class of 1911.
Biographical Note
Alton Lombard Miller (1890-1984), manufacturing executive, was the son of Charles Nahum and Lula Elizabeth (Lombard) Miller. Miller attended the Foster Grammar School (1903) and Latin High School (1907) in Somerville,Massachusetts. He received three degrees from Harvard University: an AB in 1911, an AM in 1913, and a PhD in 1916. Later, Miller pursued post-graduate studies in mathematics at the University of Turin (Italy) from 1915 to 1916. After College, Miller began an academic career teaching chemistry at Browne and Nichols School (1911-1912) in Cambridge,Massachusetts. He also taught mathematics at Harvard College (1911-1913), the Literary College at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (1913-1917), and at the Harvard Graduate School during World War I (1917-1919). In 1917, Miller began working with his father in the family confectionary business, becoming a partner, and ultimately leaving his teaching career to become treasurer,general manager, and president of the Charles N. Miller Company, a manufacturer and distributor of children's penny candy. Miller retired in 1964. Besides his business activities, Miller served in a leadership position in many religious, business, and fraternal organizations. He was a leading layman in the Baptist Church, serving as president of the Northern Baptist Convention (1929-1930) and as a member of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society (1935-1955); a deputy grand lodge master of the Masons of Massachusetts (1950-1951); and president of the New England Manufacturing Confectioners' Association (1926-1928).
References:
- Harvard College, Class of 1911. Decennial Report. Boston: Four Seals Company, 1921.
- Harvard College, Class of 1911. Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Report. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Cosmos Press, 1936.
- Harvard College, Class of 1911. Fortieth Anniversary Report. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Cosmos Press, 1951.
- Harvard College, Class of 1911. Forty-fifth Anniversary Report. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Cosmos Press, 1956.
- Harvard College, Class of 1911. Fiftieth Anniversary Report. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Cosmos Press, 1961.
Acquisition Information
The Alton Lombard Miller personal archive was acquired through donation. Accession number: 18535; 2012 August 21
Processing Information
Processing included re-housing materials in appropriate containers, establishment of series hierarchy, and the creation of this finding aid. Processed by Dominic P. Grandinetti in November 2012.
- Title
- Miller, Alton Lombard. Alton Lombard Miller personal archive, 1897-1936, 1946, 1961 and undated: an inventory
- Status
- completed
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua19012
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository
Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461
archives_reference@harvard.edu