Israel Miller

Israel Miller (1866 – August 13, 1929) was a shoe manufacturer and merchant based in New York. His company I. Miller was the leading importer and maker of women's stilettos in the United States, with 200 retail locations around the country carrying a variety of designers. Miller was also a founder and director of the Broadway National Bank of New York.

Life and career Miller was born the son of a peasant shoemaker in Grodno, Poland in 1866. He was trained by his father as an expert craftsman. After four years in Paris as a cutter and designer, Miller emigrated to New York in 1892. He got a job at a cobbler's bench in Manhattan's Union Square with John Azzimonti, who was then the top producer of shoes for theatrical productions. Initially, Miller produced shoes primarily for the theater industry. Numerous vaudevillians began to patronize him because of his exceptional designs and craftsmanship, and he soon started getting orders to supply shoes for whole casts of theatrical shows.

In 1905, Miller began a regular wholesale and retail business after he received commissions from society women requesting evening footwear, and actresses also wanted him to design shoes for their wardrobes. All I. Miller shops were closed out of respect on the day of his funeral. About 2,000 people attended the funeral, including friends in the theater industry and delegations from Jewish institutions and organizations he supported. In his eulogy, Rabbi Israel Goldstein said Miller died like Moses, "upon a mountain." He is interred in the Miller family mausoleum at Union Field Cemetery in Ridgewood, Queens.