Edward Miller (16 July 1915 – 21 December 2000) was a British historian, who served as Master of

Fitzwilliam College Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college has origins from 1869, with the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer academically excellent students of all ...

between 1971 and 1981. During this time, Miller oversaw a significant expansion of the college and was constantly active in the governance of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Life

Miller was born on 16 July 1915 at

Acklington Park Acklington Park is a former civil parish, now in the parish of Acklington, Northumberland, England. It was the birthplace of John Rushworth (born c.1612) who achieved fame in both England and during the formation of the United States of America ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, the son of a farmer. He attended King Edward VI Grammar School in Morpeth, before reading history at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, specialising in medieval history. Having grown up on a farm, he was drawn to questions of medieval agriculture and the peasants whose labour had sustained the clergy. Following the completion of his degree, in 1937, Miller became a research student. After the Second World War, during which he fought for the British Army between 1940 and 1945, he returned to teach at St John's. He was warden of the

Institute of Continuing Education The University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education (ICE) is a department of University of Cambridge, the University of Cambridge that provides continuing education programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, ranging from unde ...

in the early 1960s, before taking a professorship in medieval history at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

between 1965 and 1971. In 1971, Miller returned to Cambridge as the

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

, a position in which he remained for ten years. Miller also chaired the

Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History (VCH), is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of Englan ...

committee and the

History of Parliament Trust The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...

. In 1981, he was elected a fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

. Miller died on 21 December 2000.

Works

With John Hatcher: :''Medieval England: Rural Society and Economic Change, 1086–1348'' Routledge (1978) :''Medieval England: Towns, Commerce and Crafts, 1086–1348'', Routledge (1995). Miller was co-editor of the second edition of volume 2 (1987) of the ''Cambridge Economic History of Europe'', and editor of the third volume (1991) of the '' Agrarian History of England and Wales'', covering the period from 1348 to 1500. Miller studied

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...

, medieval

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, and the

Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...

References

1915 births 2000 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Masters of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge 20th-century English historians Contributors to the Victoria County History Fellows of the British Academy Academics of the University of Sheffield {{UK-historian-stub