Archives West Finding Aid

Biographical Sketch of Dr. Milton R. Merrill

Milton Reese Merrill was born April 3, 1901 in Richmond, Utah, the son of Loren A. and Laura Merrill. In 1926, he married Bessie while he was teaching at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seminary of the high school in Logan. He obtained his BS from Utah State Agricultural College, then his MA and PhD from Columbia University. In 1969, he was awarded an honorary doctor of humanities from USU, an honor he proudly accepted.

In the spring of 1927, Milton was asked to take over the Utah State University publicity from a faculty member who was retiring. At the start of fall quarter, he was hired on full-time since a replacement had not been found. So started a long career at USU. From 1927 to his retirement in 1971, Dr. Merrill served as director of public relations (1927-1931), instructor in history; assistant, associate, and professor of political science (1932-1965), director of the College for Army Air Force Training Program (1942-1944), assistant to the president (1938-1942); director of correspondence and extension classes (1940-1945); assistant director, director, and dean of summer school (1939-1950); dean school of Commerce, later the College of Business and Social Sciences (1950-1959). From 1959-1965, he also served as USU's first vice president under Daryl Chase.

Dr. Merrill was very popular at USU both with students and faculty. He was both a Phi Kappa Phi and a Pi Sigma Alpha. All were saddened by his passing in 1971 at age 70.

Biographical Sketch of Reed Smoot

Reed Smoot, apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and U.S. senator from Utah, was one of the most controversial figures in turn of the century politics. In his doctoral dissertation for Columbia University, Milton R. Merrill discusses the Senate investigation that eventually seated Smoot and Smoot's career in politics that lasted 30 years. Information from congressional records, people who knew the apostle-senator, and personal records of Smoot's own make up the bulk of notes in the collection. Almost 800 pages of handwritten notes along with questionnaires, references from books, a few newspaper clippings, and other items are included.