Oskar von Miller

Oskar von Miller
Born	Oskar Franz Xaver Miller Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria
Died	9 April 1934(1934-04-09) (aged 78) Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany
Occupation	Engineer
Known for	Founder of the Deutsches Museum

Oskar Franz Xaver Miller, ennobled as von Miller from 1875 onward (7 May 1855 – 9 April 1934), was a German engineer renowned for founding the Deutsches Museum, a prominent science and technology museum located in Munich.

Biography

Originating from an Upper Bavarian family based in Aichach, Miller was born in Munich as the son of Ferdinand von Miller (1813–1887), who served as the first supervisor of the royal ore foundry in Munich, and his wife Anna Pösl (1815–1890). In 1884, he married Marie Seitz, a painter, and together they had seven children, though two passed away during infancy. His brother, Baron Ferdinand von Miller, was notable as an ore caster and director of the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. The family was ennobled when his father Ferdinand was elevated to Bavarian nobility on 12 October 1875, with the family name officially registered among the Kingdom of Bavaria’s aristocracy on 30 December 1875, thereby granting Oskar noble status simultaneously.

Miller pursued studies in technology and civil engineering at the Technische Hochschule München. He soon developed an interest in the emerging discipline of electrotechnology. Inspired by an electrotechnical exhibition he witnessed in Paris, he organized Germany’s first such exhibition in 1882. During this event on 16 September 1882, together with Marcel Deprez, he achieved the pioneering transmission of electric current over approximately 60 kilometers from Miesbach to the Glaspalast in Munich.

In 1883, Miller co-directed the German Edison Company (which later became AEG) alongside Emil Rathenau. The following year, he established Germany’s first power station in Munich.

By 1890, he had founded his own engineering firm, which quickly gained prominence within the energy sector. He also directed the electrotechnical exhibition held in Frankfurt am Main in 1891. This event featured a remarkable achievement by Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky, who successfully transmitted 20,000 volts of three-phase alternating current over a distance of 176 kilometers from Lauffen am Neckar to Frankfurt am Main—an important milestone in alternating current transmission technology.

For many years, Miller contributed to the Bayernwerk project, which harnessed Bavaria’s electrical power capacity totaling 1,253 million kilowatts.

In 1903, Miller realized his ambition to create a museum dedicated to science and technology—the Deutsches Museum. Over many years, he cultivated extensive networks to support this vision. Prince Regent Luitpold became a key patron, providing national backing. Renowned scientists and industrialists including Max Planck, Hugo Junkers, Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, and Emil Rathenau offered guidance on organizing the museum’s departments. Thanks to Miller’s efforts, nearly all materials required for constructing the museum were donated. He also enlisted experts such as Carl von Linde, who helped establish the initial museum executive committee and was a pioneer in refrigeration technology, along with Walther von Dyck, rector of the technical university.

In 1906, Emperor Wilhelm II laid the foundation stone for the museum complex at its present site on the museum island. Prior to its grand opening on Miller’s seventieth birthday on 7 May 1925, exhibits were displayed in temporary locations.

Between 1918 and 1924, Miller oversaw construction management for what was then the world’s largest high-pressure hydroelectric power plant—the Walchenseekraftwerk.

Miller passed away from a heart attack in 1934 within the Deutsches Museum itself, just months after his wife died accidentally. His burial took place at Neuhausen Cemetery in Munich beside the church.

Honours (selected)

• Served as a member of the Upper House (Kammer der Reichsräte) within the Bavarian Parliament
• Awarded honorary citizenship by the city of Munich
• Granted honorary citizenship of Holzkirchen
• Designated honorary president of the second World Conference on Electrical Power (Weltkraftkonferenz)
• Recipient of the Siemens-Ring
• First-ever laureate of the Wilhelm Exner Medal in 1921

Von Miller’s various roles highlight both his character and his significant influence in the field of electrical engineering, including:

• Leadership position as chairman of the Association of German Engineers
• Technical advisor to the 1919 peace delegation at Versailles
• Prolific author whose publications, particularly those addressing urban electrical power supply, became foundational references

The Oskar von Miller Tower bears his name in tribute.

Additional sources

• Wilhelm Füßl: Miller, Oskar von. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Volume 17, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1994, ISBN 3-428-00198-2, pp. 517–519
• Wilhelm Füßl: Oskar von Miller: 1855–1934. Eine Biographie, Munich: C.H. Beck, 2005, ISBN 3-406-52900-3
• Wilhelm Füßl: "Oskar von Miller." In: Katharina Weigand (ed.): Große Gestalten der bayerischen Geschichte. Munich: Herbert Utz Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-8316-0949-9

External links

1. REDIRECT Template:20th Century Press Archives