Stephen Miller (7 January 1816-18 August 1881) was the Republican Governor of Minnesota from 11 January 1864 to 8 January 1866, succeeding Henry Adoniram Swift and preceding William Rainey Marshall.
Biography[]
Stephen Miller was born in Carroll Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania in 1816, and he established a series of successful businesses before frail health led to his relocation to St. Cloud, Minnesota. There, he rose to prominence in the state Republican Party, and he served as colonel of the 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War and supervised the execution of 38 Dakotas during the Dakota War of 1862. After the war, he served as Governor from 1864 to 1866, strongly supporting higher education and Black suffrage. He became a railroad company field agent after leaving office and served in the state house from 1873 to 1874, but he died impoverished in Worthington in 1881.