William Miller (Australian athlete)

William Miller (16 December 1846 – 11 March 1939), also known as Professor William Miller, was an Australian athlete, the only athlete to hold Australian championships for boxing, fencing, wrestling and weight-lifting.[1][2]

William Miller
"Professor" William Miller
Born	16 December 1846 Cheshire, England
Died	11 March 1939(1939-03-11) (aged 92) Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	William Miller
Billed height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Billed weight	191–196 lb (87–89 kg)
Debut	1871
Retired	1890

Miller was born in Liscard, Cheshire, England, the son of Alexander Miller, a wine and spirits merchant, and his wife Sarah Anne, née Hatton (W. Miller was partly of French heritage).[3] At age 5, William Miller arrived in Victoria, Australia with his family. From 1862 to 1869, Miller worked for the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company as station-master and telegraph instructor.[2]

Miller became proprietor of the Melbourne Gymnasium, and instructor to some the leading Melbourne schools.[4] Miller won the Australian broadsword championship in 1872. In the US from 1874 to 1880 he defeated cosmopolitan champions in boxing and wrestling, out of 72 matches, he had 55 wins and 11 draws. In 1879 he defeated Duncan Ross walking over 102 miles (164 km) in 24 hours and drew with the champion weight-lifter Richard Pennell, both lifting 1550 lbs. (703 kg) of iron.[2]