• Name: Miller,
• Gender: Male
• Birth Date:
• Death Date:

This entry relates to a number of Millers in the Diary. We are reasonably confident in distinguishing at least some of the entries under three headings: 1. Walter Miller/Millar of Perth. There is a copy of a letter from Godwin to Walter Millar (MS. Abinger c. 55, fols. 84-6), but Godwin also refers to Miller (Perth). The papers of the London Corresponding Society refer to a Walter Miller of Perth who was active in the society. Indeed, it seems likely that Millar had advanced Joseph Gerrald money when he was arrested in Edinburgh. Miller of Perth is first distinguished in 1806, when he dines with Godwin and Thomas Turner. But it seems likely that the call, three days earlier, from Miller, TT and Lamb, may also be to the Perth Miller. In March 1809 he also writes to a Miller in Perth. There also seems to be a Walter Miller Junr. It is possible that Walter Miller was involved in the financing of the Juvenile Library. Godwin records 'Walter Miller dies 1819-03-19'.

2. William Miller - Miller, William Richard Beckford (1769–1844), publisher, was born on 25 March 1769, died on 25 October 1844. He was a succesful bookseller and publisher who, from 1804, had premises in Albemarle Street in London, which he expanded considerably in 1807. He published Godwin's 'Essay on Sepulchres' in February 1809. There are clear references to this Miller - in the form of 'Miller (Albemarle Street)'; 'Miller bookseller'; and, probably (since it seems likely to be an abbreviation of Albemarle Street) 'Miller A. S.' The difficulty is knowing how far these are distinct from the plain Miller entries in the Diary. The first 'Miller (Albemarle Street)' is in January 1809, shortly before the Essay's publication. There is also a Miller (contract) entry in 1811 - although it is unclear what this relates to.

3. 'Miller, cordonnier' - may be a reference to Samuel Miller: Christina and David Bewley's Life of John Horne Tooke refer to a Samuel Miller, whose father (also Samuel Miller, d. 1816?) was a shoemaker, a member of the LCS, and a friend of John Horne Tooke's. (See also J. Ann Hone, For the Cause of Truth). The three 1795 Millers are at Tooke's, Mackintosh's and the Crown and Anchor; in 1796 there are two meetings at Tooke's and one at Debrett's; the 1799 entry is also Tooke's. This strongly suggests that these, at least, relate to Samuel Miller, sen'r. It seems likely that it is this Miller who attends Fox's funeral in 1806. The 1807 and 1808 entries are not easy to identify. They may relate to Samuel Miller (or, indeed, could be to his son Samuel b. 1785). They do not seem to relate to Miller of Perth. But they may also relate to William Miller the publisher. However, since Godwin's Essay on Sepulchres was begun only towards the end of November 1808, he may not have approached a publisher until the explicit reference to Miller of Albemarle Street in January 1809.

4. For completeness we should note that John Miller the philosopher and lawyer visited London on only two occasions, according to an account of his life that prefaces his 'Origins of the distinction of ranks...', the second being in 1792. But there is no record of his meeting Godwin then.

5. The Miller from Edinburgh whom Godwin meets at Joseph Johnson in June 1809 and then sees a few days later, also in the company of Constable and Blackwood. There is a Miller referred to in the advertisements in the Caledonia Mercury for Rees's Cyclopedia, as one of the booksellers for the work in Edinburgh. There is also a reference to the Booksellers, Manners and Miller, in Prince's Street, Edinburgh.

6. The 3 November 1811 entry is to Miller's Wharf - which we assume is the jetty from which they see CC off to Edinburgh. The 1816 trip to Edinburgh adds R. Miller, Dr Miller, and a number of family members from one of these Millers. Both Dr Miller and R Miller seem to be in London in 1817 1819 and 1820 add John Miller, S. Miller and Jas Miller. 1821 adds G Miller. There is also more use around this time of Miller (bookseller). There's also a Prof Miller in 1832.

• MS. Abinger c. 55, fols. 84-6
• J. Ann Hone, For the Cause of Truth, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1982
• Christina and David Bewley's Gentleman Radical: A Life of John Horne Tooke,London, Tauris Academic Studies, 1998

This table lists the people this person is most frequently noted with in the diary.