Sir James Miller (16 March 190520 March 1977) was a Scottish businessman and politician, who served as
Lord Provost of Edinburgh
The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of ...
and
Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...
. As an architect, engineer and house-builder he founded the firm
Miller Homes
Miller Homes Limited is a privately held housebuilding company based in the United Kingdom.
History
The company was established by Sir James Miller in 1934. Expansion led to James' brothers, John and Lawrence, joining him in the business. Mi ...
in 1934.
Life
Miller was born on 16 March 1905, the son of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
architect James Miller. The family lived at 32 Bellevue Road at this time. He was educated at
George Heriot's School
George Heriot's School is a private primary and secondary day school on Lauriston Place in the Lauriston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has more than 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff, and 80 non-teaching staff. It was ...
. He then trained as an architect under his father. In 1925, he undertook his first design-build project after a developer withdrew from a project. In 1934, continuing in this vein, he formed James Miller & Partners with his brothers, which eventually was rebranded as Miller Homes.
In 1936, he became a town councillor in Edinburgh and in 1947 was City Treasurer. In post-war Britain his company expanded to cover all sections of the country.
From 1951 to 1954, he was
Lord Provost of Edinburgh
The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of ...
. He was succeeded by
John Garnett Banks
Sir John Garnett Banks (9 May 1889 – 2 May 1974) was a Scottish businessman and local politician who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1954 to 1957.
Life
He was born in Edinburgh on 9 May 1889 the son of Elizabeth Forrest Grieve and Joh ...
. In 1953, the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
awarded him an honorary doctorate (LLD).
Amongst his roles as Lord Provost he was part of BBC Scotland's first broadcast: on 14 March 1952 alongside presenters
Mary Malcolm
Helen Mary Malcolm Retrieved 2012-11-08 (15 March 191813 October 2010) was one of the first two regular female announcers on and Alastair Macintyre.
In 1955, he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...
. His proposers were
Charles Warr
Charles Laing Warr KCVO FRSE (1892–1969) was a Church of Scotland minister and author in the 20th century.
Life
Warr was born on 20 May 1892, the second son of the Reverend Alfred Warr, sometime minister of Rosneath in Dunbartonshire, an ...
,
Douglas Allan
Douglas Alexander Allan, CBE, FRSGS, FRSE, FMA (28 January 1896 – 30 July 1967) was a geologist and curator, eventually becoming the director of the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh, from 1945 until 1961.
Early life and education
Born ...
Sir James Harman
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...
as
Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...
and in 1965 was succeeded in turn by Sir
Lionel Denny
Sir Jonathan Lionel Percy Denny (5 August 1897 – 5 August 1985) was a British produce broker. He was Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the counci ...
.
He retired as Director of Miller Homes in 1970 and was succeeded by his son James Miller. His nephew, Keith Miller, became Chief Executive.
He died on 20 March 1977.
Family
In 1933 he married Ella Jane Stewart.
Artistic recognition
Whilst Lord Provost he was painted by
William Oliphant Hutchison
Sir William Oliphant Hutchison LLD PRSA (2 July 1889 – 5 February 1970) was a Scottish portrait and landscape painter. He was an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy, President of the Royal Scottish Academy and a member of the Royal Society ...
. The painting is held by the
City of Edinburgh Council
The City of Edinburgh Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Dhùn Èideann'') is the local government authority covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Almost half of the council area is the built-up area of Edinburgh, capital of Sco ...
.
Philanthropy
In 1967 he funded the training ship
Malcolm Miller Malcolm Miller may refer to:
* Malcolm Miller (schooner)
* Malcolm Miller (basketball)
{{dab ...
in memory of his son Malcolm who had been killed in a car accident in 1965.