Kansas State College, 1935-1939

The John William Miller Papers contains personal information about John William Miller, as well as a wealth of technical reference material that would be useful to a researcher interested in the testing and development of aircraft engines, helicopter transmissions, and other aeronautical subsystems during the 1940s through 1970s.

Series I: Education

Series I, Education, includes documents related to the formal education of John William Miller. It includes items from his K-12 education in Kansas, including several items related to his graduation from Norton Community High School in 1934. It includes documents pertaining to his undergraduate education at Kansas State College (now Kansas State University), as well as additional coursework, particularly at the University of Kentucky's Engineering Defense Training Program in 1941. It includes records of training and professional development undertaken through Wright Patterson Air Force Base, also. 1 box.

Series II: Personal

Series II, Personal, includes many different documents of a more personal nature, such as: driver's license, ration stamps, news clippings, and certificates. This series includes multiple folders of personnel documents related to John's career at WPAFB, such as Efficiency Ratings, Notifications of Personnel Actions, resumes, and retirement. John's eight-page resume may be of particular interest to the researcher; it is dated 1974 and covers his entire career in great detail. One folder relates to John's involvement with Toastmasters and includes several of his speeches. There is also a folder containing documents related to John's death in 2005, including an obituary. 1 box.

Series III: Reference

Series III, Reference, is the largest series in the collection and contains material that would have been used for technical reference. It includes: scholarly articles (written by others); conference materials; course materials and lecture notes; textbook excerpts; product manuals; design manuals and guides; reference manuals and guides; data sheets; model specification sheets (engines, airplanes); military specifications and military standards; environmental data; subject files; and pocket reference guides. The subject matter of the reference materials ranges from general mechanical engineering manuals; to general information about aircraft engines, helicopter transmissions, and other subsystem components; to product-specific or model-specific guides. 7 boxes.

Series IV: Reports

Series IV, Reports, contains Technical Reports, Technical Notes, test reports and project reports. One folder pertaining to the AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) project may be of particular interest to the researcher. This series contains two oversized items, located in box 13, and indicated in the finding aid by "OS 13". 3 boxes.

Series V: Catalogs

Series V, Catalogs, includes sales catalogs and other promotional materials from subsystem component manufacturers. The series includes catalogs for the following companies: Lycoming, Continental, Heli-Coil, Tedeco, and Cone-Drive. 1 box.

Series VI: Photographs

Series VI, Photographs, contains both personal and work-related photographs. The personal photographs include mainly photographs of John as a young man; a few school group photos; John and his wife Kay; reunions; and travel. The work-related photographs include photos of airplanes and helicopters; control panels; system components; tests; and awards ceremonies. The folder of AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) photographs may be of particular interest to researchers. This series contains two oversized items, located in box 13, and indicated in the finding aid by "OS 13". 2 boxes.

Series VII: Posters

Series VII, Posters, includes a few oversized posters of airplanes and system diagrams. All items in this series are oversized and located in map case drawer 73, indicated in the finding aid by "OS 73".