Victor J. Miller (December 6, 1888 in Joplin, Missouri – January 6, 1955 in Kansas City, Missouri) was the 33rd Mayor of Saint Louis, serving from 1925 to 1933.
Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 50,150. Joplin is the main hub of the three-county Joplin-Miami, Missouri-Oklahoma Metro area.
Kansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city had an estimated population of 488,943 in 2017, making it the 37th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central city of the Kansas City metropolitan area, which straddles the Kansas–Missouri state line. Kansas City was founded in the 1830s as a Missouri River port at its confluence with the Kansas River coming in from the west. On June 1, 1850 the town of Kansas was incorporated; shortly after came the establishment of the Kansas Territory. Confusion between the two ensued and the name Kansas City was assigned to distinguish them soon after.
Miller grew up in Joplin and attended the University of Missouri. He graduated from Washington University Law School, and began practicing law in St. Louis. In 1921, Governor Arthur M. Hyde appointed Miller President of the St. Louis Police Board. When he took office, the force included only six African-American officers—Negro specials—who were not allowed to wear uniforms. In his first year in office, hired fifteen African Americans and, like other officers, required them to wear uniforms. He served in that position until 1923. In 1924, Miller was a Republican candidate for Governor of Missouri. He was defeated by Sam Aaron Baker, but carried St. Louis in the race.
The University of Missouri is a public, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It was founded in 1839 as the first public institution of higher education west of the Mississippi River. The state's largest university, it enrolled 30,870 students in 2017 and offered over 300 degree programs in 21 academic divisions. It is the flagship campus of the University of Missouri System, which also has campuses in Kansas City, Rolla, and St. Louis. There are more than 300,000 MU alumni living worldwide with over one half residing in Missouri.
Arthur Mastick Hyde was an American Republican politician, who served as the 35th Governor of Missouri from 1921 to 1925, and as the United States Secretary of Agriculture for President Herbert Hoover from 1929 to 1933.
Samuel Aaron Baker was an American teacher and Republican politician from Missouri. He served as the state's 36th Governor.
After his strong performance in St. Louis during the 1924 Governor's election, Miller ran for Mayor of the City in 1925, and was elected at the age of 36. He was re-elected in 1929. Several major public works projects approved by voters in a 1923 bond issue were completed during Miller's administration, including the construction of the Civil Courts Building. One of these public works projects, an $8,000,000 street lighting initiative led to charges of graft and corruption in city government. An investigation by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch found that the lighting contractor, A.M Ryckoff of Chicago, had overcharged the city by more than $150,000. Ryckoff and two city employees were indicted, but Ryckoff died before the matter came to trial, and charges were dropped against the city employees.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major regional newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri, serving St. Louis City and County, St. Charles County, the Metro East and surrounding counties. It is the only daily newspaper in the city. The publication has received 18 Pulitzer Prizes.
Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the most populous city in Illinois, as well as the third most populous city in the United States. With an estimated population of 2,716,450 (2017), it is the most populous city in the Midwest. Chicago is the principal city of the Chicago metropolitan area, often referred to as Chicagoland, and the county seat of Cook County, the second most populous county in the United States. The metropolitan area, at nearly 10 million people, is the third-largest in the United States, and the fourth largest in North America and the third largest metropolitan area in the world by land area.
At the conclusion of his term as Mayor, Miller left St. Louis. He went to New York, then later to Kentucky, finally settling in Kansas City. He died in Kansas City on January 6, 1955 and was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Joplin, Missouri.
