Child Prodigy George Mason Miller

Unity High School Graduate and Quiz Show Winner

George Mason Miller was an Iredell County child genius who appeared on several TV shows in the 1950s. He graduated from Unity High School in Statesville in 1959 after skipping four grades. He entered Livingstone College at the age of 14 and graduated with a history degree in 3½ years. From there he moved to UNC-Chapel Hill at 18 years of age to study political science. He then graduated from American and Columbia Universities and earned a doctorate at the University of Chicago. By the time he was 21, George had earned two master’s degrees.

After appearing on the “New York Youth Forum” TV show in 1955 and winning $225 on the “Strike it Rich” program in 1956, the 11-year-old returned to New York City three more times for the CBS TV quiz show “Giant Step,” hosted by Bert Parks. He advanced through the show’s eight levels of questioning and was awarded a four-year scholarship to the college of his choice and an all-expenses paid trip to Africa for himself and his mother, with stops in Paris, London and Lisbon.

“Giant Step” contestants ranged in age from 7 to 17. The contestants picked their topic of expertise and attempted to complete eight steps of questioning to win the grand prize. Each question had two parts, and if both parts were answered correctly, they won the right to move on to the next step in the game. George’s area of expertise was “nations of the world.”  He was the only African American contestant to appear on the show.

On his first show, young George won two bicycles, a camera and projector, tools for his father and a freezer for his mother. He also won an official United Nations document autographed by Dr. Ralphe Bunche and Henry Cabot Lodge. George had become friends with Dr. Bunche, the Nobel Peace Prize winning political scientist. Bunche later invited the youngster to sit in on a meeting of the Economic & Social Council at the United Nations.

George had become interested in the UN when he toured the New York City facility while his parents were in graduate school at Columbia University when he was a child. Young Miller took his first college course at Columbia at the age of 14. It was there that he met Kwame Nkrumah, the prime minister of the South African country of Ghana. The prime minister hosted George’s two-week visit to his country and arranged for the 14-year-old to speak before the Ghanaian Assembly.

Upon hearing about the young United Nations expert, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed George U. S. Goodwill Ambassador during his Africa trip.

Dr. Miller was the son of Mason and Geneva Miller. His father was principal of Amity School in eastern Iredell County and his mother was a teacher at Unity School. George was the nephew of New York City sculptress and Iredell County native Selma Burke whose Franklin D. Roosevelt bust rendering has been featured on the U. S. ten-cent piece for the past 75 years. His Aunt Selma’s sculpture of Iredell County education pioneer Mary Holliday graced the entranceway of Unity High School while he was a student there and for many years afterwards.

In the 1970s George was a professor at Howard University in DC, was working as a researcher at the Library of Congress and was completing his second doctorate. When he died, he was on the faculty at Bennett College.

The full story of the accomplishments of George Mason Miller can be found at the Statesville Historical Collection.