William Miller
39thUnited States Attorney General
In office March 7, 1889 – March 4, 1893
President	Benjamin Harrison
Preceded by	Augustus Garland
Succeeded by	Richard Olney
Personal details
Born	William Henry Harrison Miller (1840-09-06)September 6, 1840 Augusta, New York, U.S.
Died	May 25, 1917(1917-05-25) (aged 76) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Resting place	Crown Hill Cemetery and Arboretum, Section 14, Lot 89 39°49′14″N86°10′32″W / 39.8204765°N 86.1756115°W /39.8204765; -86.1756115
Political party	Republican
Education	Hamilton College, New York(BA)
Signature
Military service
Years of service	May-September 1862
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	84th Ohio Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars	American Civil War

William Henry Harrison Miller (September 6, 1840 – May 25, 1917) was an American lawyer andAttorney General of the United States.

Born inAugusta, New York, one of the ten children born to Curtis and Lucy (Duncan) Miller,^[1] Miller was named for former presidentWilliam Henry Harrison.^[2] At the age of fifteen, Miller began teaching school. He attended an academy atWhitestown, New York, and graduated fromHamilton College in 1861.^[1] While at Hamilton, he joined TheDelta Upsilon fraternity.^[2]

He moved toMaumee, Ohio, and there, in May, 1862, enlisted as a private in the84th Ohio Infantry Regiment, for service in theAmerican Civil War, and was elected lieutenant.^[1] His service ended in September of that year.^[2]

After the war, Miller moved toToledo, Ohio,read law in the office ofMorrison Waite, laterChief Justice of the United States, and was admitted to the bar atPeru, Indiana in 1865. He practiced in that city for a short time, and also held the office of county school examiner.^[1]

In 1866, Miller moved toFort Wayne, Indiana, where he formed a partnership with William H. Coombs. Upon the retirement ofAlbert G. Porter from the Indianapolis law firm of Porter, Harrison & Hines, in 1874, Miller was invited to become a member of that firm, which became then the firm of Harrison, Hines & Miller;^[1] the senior partner of the firm beingBenjamin Harrison.^[2] Miller also served as President of the Indianapolis Bar Association from 1884 to 1885,^[3] and was "for many years... a trusted advisor" to leaders of the Republican Party in Indiana.^[2]

For many years, and particularly during thecampaign of 1888, he was a confidential advisor to Harrison.^[2] On March 5, 1889,President Harrison appointed Miller United States Attorney General, sending the appointment to theUnited States Senate along with most of his other cabinet nominations, with the entire cabinet being "confirmed in a ten minute executive session of the senate".^[4] At the time of his appointment, it was reported that Miller was "considered a wealthy man, having grown rich in the practice of his profession".^[4] Miller served in that capacity for the duration of Harrison's term, until 1893.

As Attorney General, Miller personally handled a number of matters of importance to the administration, including litigation over the status of theBering Sea, defense of the constitutionality of theMcKinley Tariff, and of theInterstate Commerce Act of 1887 and theInternational Copyright Act of 1891.^[2] He also managed the admission ofNorth Dakota,South Dakota,Montana,Washington,Idaho andWyoming to the Union.^[2] Miller also played a key role in the notorious matter of the death ofDavid S. Terry, a former California Supreme Court Justice who was shot and killed by a U.S. marshal while attempting to attack U.S. Supreme Court justiceStephen Johnson Field, who had previously sentenced Terry to six months in jail for contempt of court in connection with a case. Terry had threatened Field, and Miller personally directed the U.S. marshal service to defend Field. When California authorities sought to prosecute the marshal who shot Terry, Miller asserted his authority to protect the safety of the federal judiciary, and personally argued the cause on the Supreme Court, which ruled in his favor.^[2]

After his retirement from the cabinet, Miller returned to Indianapolis and resumed active practice as a member of the firm of Miller, Winter & Elam, later succeeded by the firm of Miller, Shirley, Miller & Thompson, and later still Miller, Dailey & Thompson.^[1] From 1893 to 1898, he also served as a trustee of his alma mater, Hamilton College.^[2]

On December 23, 1863, Miller married Gertrude A. Bunce, daughter of Sidney A. Bunce, ofVernon, New York. They had seven children, of whom three survived their father.^[1] Miller died in 1917 inIndianapolis, Indiana, and is buried inCrown Hill Cemetery in that city.^[5][6]

• William Henry Harrison Miller collection, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library

• 1840 births
• 1917 deaths
• Attorneys general of the United States
• Hamilton College (New York) alumni
• Burials at Crown Hill Cemetery
• Benjamin Harrison administration cabinet members
• Indiana lawyers
• Indiana Republicans
• People from Augusta, New York
• 19th-century American politicians
• Union army officers
• Delta Upsilon members

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