Edmund Morris Miller,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(14 August 1881 – 21 October 1964), known as E. Morris Miller, was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

author, professor, and vice-chancellor of the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

between 1933–1945. Born in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

Colony of Natal The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies t ...

on 14 August 1881, Miller moved with his family to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 1883. He was educated at

University High School University High School may refer to: Australia * University High School, Melbourne, Victoria Canada * University Hill Secondary School, Vancouver, British Columbia United States Arizona * University High School (Tolleson) * University High Sc ...

and Wesley College. In 1900 he began working at the

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in th ...

. He enrolled at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

obtaining a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

and in 1907 an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

with 1st class honours in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. He, along with F. J. Broomfield, Sir John Quick and others wrote the bibliographic ''Australian Literature from its Beginnings'' (two volumes, 1940). Authors he described include Carlton Dawe,

Simpson Newland Simpson Newland CMG (2 November 1835 – 27 June 1925), pastoralist, author and politician, was a pioneer in Australia who made significant contributions to development around the Murray River. He was also an author of practical works and novel ...

John Henry Nicholson John Henry Nicholson (1838–1923) was a British-born, Queensland man of letters, teacher, writer and poet. Life John Henry Nicholson was born into a distinguished family of literary and scientific note, at Lyme Regis, Dorset, England on 12 J ...

and

Hume Nisbet James Hume Nisbet (8 August 1849 – 4 June 1923) was a Scottish-born novelist and artist. Many of his thrillers are set in Australia. Youth Nisbet was born in Stirling, Scotland and received special artistic training, and was educated under the ...

. In 1956 this book was revised and extended to include works to 1950, edited by Frederick T Macartney. He also wrote on the beginnings of philosophy in Australia. He also wrote ''Pressmen and Governors: Australian Editors and Writers in Early Tasmania'' (1952). He was awarded the gold medal of the Australian Literature Society and elected a fellow of the

British Psychological Society The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom. History It was founded on 24 October 1901 at University College London (UCL) as ''The Psychological Society'', the org ...

(1943) and of the

International Institute of Arts and Letters International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

. Miller was Professor of Psychology and Philosophy at the

from 1922 until his retirement in 1950, and

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

from 1933 to 1945. In 1939–40 Miller managed the transfer from the Commonwealth, of a new site for the University at Sandy Bay. The social science and humanities library on the Sandy Bay Campus at the University of Tasmania is named after Miller. From 1924 Miller was also president of the Mental Deficiency Board. A trustee of the

State Library of Tasmania The State Library of Tasmania is the reference, special collections, research and public lending library in the Tasmanian capital of Hobart, Australia. It is part of Libraries Tasmania. Libraries Tasmania includes a state-wide network of librar ...

, he became chairman in 1923 and was a founder of the

Library Association of Australia The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), formerly the Australian Institute of Librarians and Library Association of Australia, is the peak professional organisation for the Australian library and information services sector. ...

in 1928. Michael Roe, John Reynolds
Miller, Edmund Morris (1881 - 1964)
,

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Vol. 10, MUP, 1986, pp. 507–509. He was appointed a

Commander of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1963 in recognition of his contribution to tertiary education. Miller died in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

on 21 October 1964 and was cremated.

References

External links

Online exhibition about Edmund Morris Miller from the University of Tasmania LibraryLibraries Australia search results for Edmund Morris MillerFull text of ''Australia's First Two Novels: origins and backgrounds'', by E. Morris Miller
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081119154101/http://calisto.slv.vic.gov.au/latrobejournal/issue/latrobe-35/t1-g-t1.html Article by E. Morris Miller, "Some Public Library Memories, 1900–1913" with a biographical introduction]
Edmund Morris Miller 1881 - 1964

References

External links

Further reading