William Millar was born in Renfrewshire c1841 . His father, Alexander, was a merchant. William attended the University of Glasgow between 1864-1868 (he did not attend classes during the academic session 1865-1866 ). He did not graduate. The most likely reasons were that letters of recommendation from his professors were enough so he did not need to go to the added expense of graduating, that the graduation certificate was not as important at that time as it is today, that he took some classes here but graduated from another University or College, or that he was unable to pass the required examinations. In his first year, 1864-1865 , he studied Greek (Tyrones class), Junior Humanities, and Junior Latin. In 1866-1867 he took Greek (Provectiores class) and Public Logic class. In 1867-1868 he studied Moral Philosophy and Ethics. Some time after leaving university he moved to Bermondsey, Surrey with his wife, Jessie. They had two children, Jessie (b 1873) and William (b 1875). According to the 1881 Census William Millar was a "licensed victualler" and kept "The Windsor Castle" public house in Bethnal Green, London. He died around the 1890s .
From the guide to the Papers of William Millar, c1841-c1890, arts student, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 31 Oct 1864-1 May 1868, (Glasgow University Archive Services)
