William Hallowes Miller

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William Hallowes Miller (April 6, 1801 – May 20, 1880), British mineralogist and crystallographer, was born at Velindre near Llandovery, Carmarthenshire. The mineral known as millerite is named after him.

He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1826 as fifth wrangler, and became a fellow in 1829. For a few years he was occupied as a college tutor and during this time he published treatises on hydrostatics and hydrodynamics.

He also gave special attention to crystallography, and on the resignation of William Whewell he succeeded in 1832 to the professorship of mineralogy, a post which he occupied until 1870. His chief work, on Crystallography, was published in 1838. He was elected FRS in 1838.

In 1852 he edited a new edition of HJ Brooke's Elementary Introduction to Mineralogy. He assisted in 1843 the committee appointed to superintend the construction of the new Parliamentary standards of length and weight (see Phil. Trans., 1856).

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• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.