Jill Jackson Miller

Jill Jackson Miller was an American actress, radio performer, songwriter, and author whose best-known work became one of the twentieth century’s most widely circulated songs about peace. Born in 1913, she worked in entertainment before increasingly turning toward writing. After a period of severe personal crisis in the 1940s, she described a spiritual awakening centered on unconditional divine love. Her daughter later recalled that Unity and New Thought teachings became important influences during Jackson Miller’s recovery, though surviving sources do not establish a precise denominational membership that should be stated as fact.

Jackson Miller married songwriter and musician Sy Miller in 1949, and the couple collaborated on many songs. In 1955 she wrote the principal text for “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” while historical accounts describe Sy Miller as supplying the melody. The song was introduced to a diverse group of young people at a California retreat devoted to interracial and interreligious understanding. It spread quickly through schools, churches, civic organizations, youth groups, and public events.

Jackson Miller continued writing and speaking about peace and spiritual transformation. An archival interview preserved by Humankind Public Radio records her own reflections on the experiences that shaped her philosophy of peace. She died in 1995.