Thomas Bruce Millar (18 October 1925 – 5 June 1994), also known as T. B. Millar, was an Australian

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and a major figure in the development of strategic studies in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Millar was born in Kalamunda,

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. He was educated at

Guildford Grammar School Guildford Grammar School, informally known as Guildford Grammar, Guildford or GGS, is an Independent school, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Mixed-sex education, coeducational Primary school, primary and Secondary school, se ...

in Perth and the Universities of Western Australia,

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 ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He was a graduate of the

Royal Military College Royal Military College may refer to: ;Australia * Royal Military College, Duntroon, Campbell, Australian Capital Territory ;Canada * Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario * Royal Military College Saint-Jean, Saint-Jean, Quebec ;Indi ...

, Duntroon, and served in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

in 1943–1950. After several years as a schoolteacher, he joined the staff of the Department of International Relations at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

in 1962. He was a professorial fellow in the department from 1968 onwards and head of the

Strategic and Defence Studies Centre The Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC) is a university-based institute that is situated in the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University. It is Australia's oldest-established centre for the study of ...

(SDSC) in 1966–1971 and 1982–1984. He was director of the

Australian Institute of International Affairs The Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) is an Australian research institute and think tank which focuses on International relations. It publishes the '' Australian Journal of International Affairs''. It is one of the oldest act ...

, 1969-1976. From 1982-1985, he served as the inaugural chairman of the

Radford College Radford College is an independent school, Anglican, coeducational day school, located in Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Founded in 1984, the college is named after Bishop Lewis Bostock Radford. It has a non-selective enrolmen ...

School Board. In 1985 Millar was seconded to London University as professor of Australian studies and the second head of the Australian Studies Centre (then part of the

Institute of Commonwealth Studies The Institute of Commonwealth Studies, founded in 1949, is the sole postgraduate academic institution in the United Kingdom devoted to the study of the Commonwealth. It is also home to the longest-running interdisciplinary and practice-oriente ...

; now th
Menzies Australia Institute
at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

). Following his retirement in 1990, he remained in London until his death and held part-time positions at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

and

. Millar was made a fellow of the

Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Aus ...

in 1982 and an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in 1983. He married Ann Drake-Brockman in 1951 and they had two daughters and one son. The marriage was dissolved in 1986. He remarried in 1990. A Christian Scientist and both a proud Australian and Western Australian, he would also proudly remind people of his Scottish ancestry - as evidenced by the spelling of his surname with the Scottish `ar' ending. Millar was a prolific writer on international relations and defence and strategic studies. In honour of his work in this field, the Graduate Studies in Strategy and Defence program (based in the SDSC) offers up to three ''T.B. Millar Scholarships'' each year to outstanding students.

Works

* ''Australia's defence'' (1965) * ''The Commonwealth and the United Nations'' (1967) * ''Australia's defence policies 1945-65'' (1968) * ''Australia's foreign policy'' (1968) * ''Australia in peace and war'' (1978) * ''The East-West strategic balance'' (1981) * ''South African dilemmas'' (1985). In 1995 a book of essays was published in his honour, edited by Coral Bell, entitled ''Nation, region and context: studies in peace and war''.

References

Guide to the Papers of T.B. Millar at the National Library of Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millar, Thomas 1925 births 1994 deaths Australian political scientists Australian political philosophers Officers of the Order of Australia People educated at Guildford Grammar School Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates 20th-century Australian historians Australian expatriates in England Australian Army personnel of World War II 20th-century political scientists