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 the convener of the City of Edinburgh local authority, who is elected by City_of_Edinburgh_Council, the city council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the e ...

and

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

. As an architect, engineer and house-builder he founded the firm

Miller Homes Miller Homes is a housebuilder 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. Miller soon became Edinburgh's lea ...

in 1934.

Life

He was born on 16 March 1905 the son of James Miller an

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

architect. The family lived at 32 Bellevue Road at this time. He was educated at

George Heriot's School George Heriot's School is a Scottish independent primary and secondary day school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has more than 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff, and 80 non-teaching staff ...

. 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

. He was succeeded by

John Garnett Banks Sir John Garnett Banks CBE LLD JP (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 Griev ...

. In 1953 the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

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 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 established i ...

. 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, a ...

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 Born in Edinburgh in 18 ...

, Hugh Nisbet and Robert Lyon. In 1964 he succeeded Sir James Harman as

and in 1965 was succeeded in turn by Sir Lionel Denny. 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 is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland. In its current form, the counci ...

Philanthropy

In 1967 he funded the training ship

Malcolm Miller The ''Malcolm Miller'' is a sistership of the three-mast schooner ''Sir Winston Churchill'' designed by Camper & Nicholsons. She was built by John Lewis & Sons in Aberdeen and first served as a Sail training ship before being converted into ...

in memory of his son malcolm who had been killed in a car accident in 1965.

References

1905 births 1971 deaths Businesspeople from Edinburgh People educated at George Heriot's School Lord Provosts of Edinburgh 20th-century lord mayors of London 20th-century English politicians 20th-century Scottish politicians Scottish architects Scottish philanthropists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Scottish justices of the peace 20th-century Scottish engineers 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Scottish knights 20th-century British philanthropists {{Scotland-business-bio-stub