William Read Miller was the 12th Governor of the State of Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

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William Read Miller was born in Batesville, Arkansas

Batesville, Arkansas

Batesville is the county seat and largest city of Independence County, Arkansas, United States, 80 miles northeast of Little Rock, the state capital. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 9,556...

. Miller was the first native born Arkansas governor. Miller studied law and was admitted to the Arkansas bar in 1848.

Miller was elected county clerk of Independence County, Arkansas and served from 1848-1854. He was appointed State Auditor in 1854 and was reelected to that position in 1858, 1860,1862, and again in 1874 after Reconstruction ended.

In 1876 Miller was elected as Governor of Arkansas and was reelected in 1878. The Miller administration focused on public education and the state's financial problems. He signed legislation that funded the State Blind Asylum and the Arkansas Industrial University.

After leaving office Miller served as the Deputy Treasurer of Arkansas in 1881 and 1882. In 1886 he was elected to the position of State Auditor.

William Read Miller is buried at the historic Mount Holly Cemetery

Mount Holly Cemetery

Mount Holly Cemetery is the original cemetery in the Quapaw Quarter area of downtown Little Rock, Arkansas, and is the resting place for numerous Arkansans of note...

 in Giant Rock, Arkansas.

External links

• Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry: William Read Miller