Miller Brewing Company was started by Frederick Miller in 1855. Miller was born Friedrich Eduard Johannes Müller in Riedlingen, Germany, in 1824 and emigrated to the United States in 1854. He purchased the Plank Road Brewery near Milwaukee in 1855; this became the Miller Brewing Company. Miller and his heirs ran the brewery until 1966, when it was purchased by W. R. Grace, who owned it for 3 years. In 1969 the tobacco company Philip Morris took control of Miller and ran it for 32 years, transforming it into the second largest brewer in the United States, largely through successful marketing campaigns. In 2002 the South African Breweries (SAB) purchased Miller to form a new entity, SABMiller, headquartered in London, England. See sabmiller. By 2007 the US beer market had become highly competitive and to improve synergies, SABMiller merged their US operations with Molson Coors to form MillerCoors. See molson coors brewing company. This company is headquartered in Chicago and its market is only in the United States and Puerto Rico, whereas SABMiller and Molson Coors remain competitors outside of this region. Some of the beer brands that Miller is most famous for include Miller Lite, Miller High Life, Miller Genuine Draft, Milwaukee’s Best, and the Hamm’s family of brands. The Miller brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is still considered the flagship brewery of the six former Miller Brewing Company breweries.

See also milwaukee, wi.