Thomas W. Miller was born in 1886 in Wilmington, Delaware, a member of one of that state's political families. Miller's own career in politics began when he was still a very young man, and has continued to the present time. Through a combination of opportunity and ability, Thomas W. Miller has had a rare opportunity to serve his fellow man in careers spanning more than a half-century of public service, and in city as well as in state and national governments.

His political career began in 1913 when he was selected to become secretary of state of Delaware. The choice was unusual in that his father, at the same time, began serving a term as governor of that state. The following year Miller was elected to the House of Representatives from Delaware and there served a single term from 1915 to 1917.

Another phase of Mr. Miller's career began in 1917, when he entered the United States Army. From July to November of 1918, Miller participated in many of the important battles on the Western Front and, at the war's end, had risen to the rank of colonel. The friendships and contacts made during the war led him to an active interest in veterans affairs, particularly in the role that the veteran might play in post-war years. As a result of this interest, he took part in the formation of the American Legion and has continued to the present day as one of the most active voices of that organization on both the state and the national levels.

Colonel Miller returned to politics and became engaged in the presidential campaign of 1920 as one of the campaign managers for General Leonard Wood in the latter's fight for the Republican nomination. Miller attracted enough attention in that role to win an appointment as Alien Property Custodian from the Harding administration. Unfortunately, his activities in that office involved him in the Harding scandals and ultimately in a prison sentence served at the federal penitentiary at Atlanta, Georgia. One of the real achievements in the career of Thomas W. Miller has been the manner in which he recovered from this incident and went on to build a new career of public service. After receiving a full pardon from President Herbert Hoover, Colonel Miller established permanent residence in the state of Nevada. His interest in Nevada dated back to the early 1900s, when as a youth he had visited the state with his father. At that time his father was involved financially in the development of Tonopah, a silver camp which soon became the center of Nevada's second great mining boom.

Colonel Miller began his career in Nevada in a series of federal positions. Later he was appointed chairman of the Nevada State Park Commission, and during the Second World War he served on the Nevada Defense Council. More recently he was named chairman of the Reno Park and Horticultural Commission. In addition, he has served his community for over thirty years in many less official, although not less important, capacities. Since 1933, Colonel Miller has been an active and influential participant in nearly every local and state election. His remarks about the behind-the-scenes maneuvering in the various political campaigns in Nevada and his analysis of issues and participants will be invaluable to historians and political scientists.