Duon H. Miller

Duon H. Miller (circa 1894 - 1969) was an American businessman, who founded the cosmetics firm Duon, Inc. Miller was most noteworthy for a sustained campaign against the polio vaccine, which Miller felt was a harmful response to a nonexistent disease.

Early life Donald H. Miller was born circa 1894. He attended the University of Nebraska, working while studying to pay his tuition, but according to his second wife he dropped out after a year to join the armed forces for World War I. At some point he changed his first name to "Duon."

Business dealings Miller founded Duon, Inc. in his garage in Dayton, Ohio. The company became a prominent cosmetics manufacturer. Its leading product was "Vita-fluff" shampoo, claimed to be the first cream shampoo. and claiming that gamma globulin treatments for polio could cause "Negro, Japanese, or other racial characteristics" to appear in descendants of those treated if the treatment had been derived from people of those races.

Polio Prevention, Inc. began publishing pamphlets claiming that soft drinks caused polio, One mailer was headlined " 'Fake' Polio Vaccine May Kill Your Child! !" Another of Miller's mailers claimed that "thousands of little white coffins will be used to bury victims of Salk's heinous and fraudulent vaccine." Attempting to circumvent the mails by using other carriers, Miller was charged with violating probation, and was ordered to completely avoid matters concerning polio prevention.

Miller continued his campaigns against sugar, pasteurization and white flours, writing prolifically to newspapers in support of his causes.

Death Miller died in 1969 at his home in Coral Gables.