Dayton C. Miller

Dayton Clarence Miller was a mathematician, physicist and educator in Cleveland, Ohio.

Miller was born on March 13, 1866, in Strongsville, Ohio. He grew up in Berea, Ohio and graduated from Baldwin University, the predecessor of Baldwin-Wallace College, in 1886. Miller then enrolled at Princeton University and earned his doctorate in 1890.

In 1890, Miller became a professor of mathematics and physics at the Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland, Ohio. He served as the chair of the Physics Department from 1895 to 1936. While a professor, Miller became known for his work with x-rays. Konrad von Roentgen created the x-ray machine in 1895. Fascinated with this discovery, Miller developed his own x-ray machine and completed the first x-ray scan of an entire human body -- his own -- in 1896. Miller specialized in the use of x-rays in surgery.

Miller also was fascinated with sound. He helped develop the Webber piano and also helped design and improve the acoustics of Severance Hall in Cleveland. In his spare time, Miller composed music and designed and collected flutes. After his death, his will left his flute collection, numbering more than 1,500 instruments, to the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Miller died on February 22, 1941.