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"M" is for Milliken, Roger (1915-2010)

South Carolina From A to Z
SC Public Radio

"M" is for Milliken, Roger (1915-2010). Businessman, political activist. During his long career Milliken built his family’s textile business into a burgeoning textile corporation known for its innovative management and technological prowess. He also played a major role in South Carolina’s transition to Republican dominance, supporting conservative issues and candidates around the state. When Milliken obtained control of the family business, he moved to Spartanburg in 1954 and also started to concentrate the company’s operations in the South Carolina Piedmont. He was an active and civic-minded citizen of Spartanburg, supporting local pro bono institutions with his advice and sizable checks. Roger Milliken’s decision to invite foreign textile machinery companies to locate in Spartanburg in the early 1960s was one of the key decisions leading to the rapid internationalization of the Piedmont’s industrial landscape.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.