William Edward "Bill" Miller (March 22, 1914 – June 24, 1983) was a New York politician. He was the Republican Party nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 1964 election. Miller is the only practicing Catholic to have been nominated for national office by the Republican Party^[1] (later nominee Sarah Palin was baptized a Catholic).

Biography

Miller was born in Lockport, New York, the son of Elizabeth Hinch and Edward J. Miller, a factory floor sweeper.^[2] Miller attended the University of Notre Dame and Albany Law School. He served in the United States Army during World War II, and later helped prosecute German war criminals at the Nuremberg trials. Miller was appointed district attorney of Niagara County, New York in 1948, by Governor Thomas E. Dewey. Miller served in the United States House of Representatives from 1951 to 1965 and was chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1961 to 1964.

Following the defeat of the Goldwater-Miller ticket, Miller returned to his hometown of Lockport, where he resumed his law practice. He also appeared in one of the first "Do you know me?" commercials for American Express. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

He and his wife Stephanie had three daughters and one son. His youngest daughter, Stephanie, was a stand-up comedian in the 1980s and is now a nationally syndicated liberal radio talk show host based on the West Coast. His son, William E. Miller, Jr. ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the House of Representatives in 1992 and 1994 to represent New York's 29th district.^[3]

Electoral history

New York's 40th district, 1952^[4]

• William E. Miller (R) - 102,565 (59.64%)
• E. Dent Lackey (D) - 69,087 (40.17%)
• John Touralchuk (American Labor) - 329 (0.19%)

New York's 40th district, 1954^[5]

• William E. Miller (R) (inc.) - 77,016 (60.92%)
• Mariano A. Lucca (D) - 46,956 (37.14%)
• Louis Longo (Liberal) - 2,233 (1.77%)
• Nick Curtis (American Labor) - 222 (0.18%)

New York's 40th district, 1956^[6]

• William E. Miller (R) (inc.) - 117,051 (64.34%)
• A. Thorne Hills (D) - 64,872 (35.66%)

New York's 40th district, 1958^[7]

• William E. Miller (R) (inc.) - 90,066 (60.80%)
• Mariano A. Lucca (D) - 54,728 (36.94%)
• Hel J. Di Pota (Liberal) - 3,354 (2.26%)

New York's 40th district, 1960^[8]

• William E. Miller (R) (inc.) - 104,752 (53.62%)
• Mariano A. Lucca (D) - 85,005 (43.51%)
• Albert J. Taylor (Liberal) - 5,621 (2.88%)

New York's 40th district, 1962^[9]

• William E. Miller (R) (inc.) - 72,706 (52.04%)
• E. Dent Lackey (D) - 67,004 (47.96%)

United States presidential election, 1964

• Lyndon B. Johnson/Hubert Humphrey (D) - 43,127,041 (61.1%) and 486 electoral votes (44 states and D.C. carried)
• Barry Goldwater/William E. Miller (R) - 27,175,754 (38.5%) and 52 electoral votes (6 states carried)
• Unpledged electors (D) - 210,732 (0.3%) and 0 electoral votes

References

• Libby Miller Fitzgerald, "Bill Miller: Do You Know Me? A Daughter Remembers", Warwick House, 2004, ISBN 1-890306-73-8

External links

• Official Congressional Biography
• Photos of Miller's gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery
• Photo of Bill Miller with his family, circa 1964, at The Stephanie Miller Show official web site

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