Hermann Clinton Miller

Hermann MillerThe son of Eli Clinton and Alice Breeze Miller was born on March 25, 1895, in Columbus, Ohio. He was graduated from North High School in Columbus Ohio, in 1913.

He received a bachelor's (1916) and a master's (1917) degree from The Ohio State University. He was a staff accountant with Scovell, Wellington & Co. (1920-21), and secretary/treasurer of American Motor Car Co. in 1922. From 1923 to 1925 he was on the faculty at The Ohio State University. He served the academic year 1925-26 as an instructor at the University of Wisconsin. He returned to The Ohio State University in 1926 serving as assistant professor (1926-30), associate professor (1930-34), professor (1934-55) and chairman, Department of Accounting from 1946 until his death in 1955. He was certified as a CPA in 1923 (Ohio).

He was active in professional organizations, in particular the AAA, serving as its president (1947), after having been vice president (1941). He was chairman of the AAA's Standards Rating Committee. He served as president (1934-36) and director (1930-34) of the Ohio Society of CPAs. He was president of the Council on Professional Education for Business, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Commission on Standards of Education and Experience for CPAs. In addition to the above he also held professional membership in the AICPA, NAA, and FEI. He played a prominent role in directing The Ohio State University's nationally renowned Annual Institute on Accounting during its operative years. Besides writing a number of professional articles, he co-authored with Jacob B. Taylor three texts: Intermediate Accounting (1933), C.P.A. Problems (1930), and Solutions to C.P.A. Problems (1931). He was a member of Beta Alpha Psi and served on its national council; he was national president (1941) and earlier he was national secretary-treasurer (1937-38). He was also a member of Alpha Kappa Psi and Beta Gamma Sigma. In 1955 the Ohio Society of CPAs established a memorial fund in his name to assist graduate students preparing for teaching careers in accounting; annually The Ohio State University awards a prize from these funds to the Ph.D. student in accounting who is judged to be the most outstanding teacher.

He served in the Navy during World War I (1917-20) and in the naval reserve from 1925 until 1954, retiring as Captain. During World War II he was Supervisory Cost Inspector, Fourth Naval District (1943-45); Navy Cost Inspector, Bethlehem Steel Co. (1941-42); and Accounting Officer, Third Naval District & Navy Yard (1945).

He married Ernestine Hunter in 1919; they had two children. He enjoyed serving in the U. S. Naval Reserve. He died on October 4, 1955 at the age of 60.