William J. (William John) Miller

Born in Red Bluff, California, on April 26, 1880, he grew up near the dramatic landscapes around Mount Lassen, which helped spark his lifelong interest in earth science. He studied at the College of the Pacific, where he majored in chemistry and geology and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa on graduating in 1900. After early teaching work there and graduate study at Stanford, he earned a Ph.D. in geologic science from Johns Hopkins University in 1905.

He went on to a long career as a professor, lecturer, and field geologist. A memorial published in American Mineralogist describes his professional life as divided between the eastern and western United States, beginning with his appointment as Professor of Geology at Hamilton College in 1905. Library records and surviving editions of his books show that he wrote widely used geology texts, including An Introduction to Historical Geology and The Story of Our Earth.

Miller died in San Diego on July 27, 1965. Remembered as both a scientist and an educator, he stands out as one of those authors who helped make a complex subject feel approachable, grounding geology in observation, landscape, and deep time.