Sir John Ontario Miller, KCSI (7 August 1857 – 19 January 1943) was a British civil servant in India. He was born in Toronto, Canada, the eldest son of Robert Schaw Miller and Eliza Miller. He died at Lavant, Sussex.
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John Ontario Miller was brought up by members of his mother's family in Scotland after the his mother's death in mid-1863 after the family came to Scotland after his father's death in Canada the previous year. He was educated at King's College, University of Aberdeen to which place he had won a bursary of £35 in 1874.[1]
Miller joined the Indian Civil Service in 1879.[2]
He held various secretary positions from 1895 to 1907. He was Chief Secretary to the North West Provinces and Oudh Administration 1899 to 1902 (and also appointed Companion to the Order of the Star of India).[3][4] He was a Secretary in the Government of India Revenue Department 1902 to 1903 and then Chief Commissioner of Central Provinces and Berar from 1905 to 1907.[3] He then became a member of Viceroy Executive Council of India and Commissioner of Legyral Province from 1907 to 1910.[5] For his work he was awarded Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India in the 1901 New Years Honours List.[5]
On his final return to Britain Miller served as a London County Council (Non-Member) representative on the London Port Authority from 1916 to 1925.[6] He served in the Ministry of Food (probably at the time of the First World War).[7]
He was a founder of the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1895.[8] He was interested as he described as “the currency question” publishing two small books on this subject in 1920 and 1931.
He married Mary Evelyn Lyall, the youngest daughter of Alfred Comyn Lyall, in 1888. They had three sons (of whom one died young in India) and two daughters. He brought his family back to the United Kingdom for short breaks in 1894, 1899 and 1901.
He was a grandson of William Mitchell (Scottish entrepreneur) (1781 - 1854). One of his grandchildren is Richard L. Hills.