William Miller (Australian athlete)

William Miller
"Professor" William Miller
Born16 December 1846
Cheshire, England
Died11 March 1939(1939-03-11) (aged 92)
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)William Miller
Billed height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Billed weight191–196 lb (87–89 kg)
Debut1871
Retired1890

William Miller (16 December 1846 – 11 March 1939), also known as Professor William Miller, was an Australian athlete, the only athlete to hold Australian championships for boxing, fencing, wrestling and weight-lifting.[1][2]

Miller was born in Liscard, Cheshire, England, the son of Alexander Miller, a wine and spirits merchant, and his wife Sarah Anne, née Hatton (W. Miller was partly of French heritage).[3] At age 5, William Miller arrived in Victoria, Australia with his family. From 1862 to 1869, Miller worked for the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company as station-master and telegraph instructor.[2]

Miller became proprietor of the Melbourne Gymnasium, and instructor to some the leading Melbourne schools.[4] Miller won the Australian broadsword championship in 1872. In the US from 1874 to 1880 he defeated cosmopolitan champions in boxing and wrestling, out of 72 matches, he had 55 wins and 11 draws. In 1879 he defeated Duncan Ross walking over 102 miles (164 km) in 24 hours and drew with the champion weight-lifter Richard Pennell, both lifting 1550 lbs. (703 kg) of iron.[2]

  1. ^ "Professor William Miller Results - the Home of Historical Wrestling". Archived from the original on 25 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Morris, Deirdre (1974). "Miller, William (1846–1939)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  3. ^ Serle, Percival (1949). "Miller, William". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  4. ^ "Our Illustration". South Bourke and Mornington Journal. Richmond, Vic.: National Library of Australia. 27 June 1883. p. 1 Edition: Weekly., Supplement. Retrieved 28 August 2014.