Edmund Morris Miller


Edmund Morris Miller (AOT, PH30/1/2210)

Edmund Morris Miller (1881–1964), progressivist scholar, was born in South Africa and moved to Melbourne as a young child. He obtained a first-class MA in philosophy from the University of Melbourne, and was lecturer (later professor) mainly in Philosophy and Psychology at the University of Tasmania, 1913–51, and vice-chancellor, 1933–45.

Miller's interests soon led to applied psychology – he was the architect of the eugenicist Mental Deficiency Act (1920), the only one passed in Australia, and director of the State Psychological Clinic and chairman of the Mental Deficiency Board, both established under the Act's auspices. Miller was active in the Workers' Educational Association, the Blind, Deaf and Dumb Institution, and the State Library. Another interest was Australian literature – his Australian literature from its two beginnings was published in 1940.

Further reading: M Roe, Nine Australian progressives, Brisbane, 1984; ADB 10.

Caroline Evans