[1] At age fifteen, Millet entered the 60th Massachusetts Infantry, first as a drummer and then a surgical assistant (helping his father, a surgeon) in the American Civil War.

He repeatedly pointed to his experience working for his father as giving him an appreciation for the vivid blood red that he frequently used in his early paintings.

He worked as a reporter and editor for the Boston Courier and then as a correspondent for the Advertiser at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.

[7] He was instrumental in obtaining the appointment of Emil Otto Grundmann, an old acquaintance from his Antwerp days, as first head of the school.

He was a founding member and vice chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, serving from 1910 until his death in 1912.

[17] They were known for throwing large but spartan parties that were attended by members of Congress, justices of the Supreme Court, and President Taft himself.

Washington insiders tried not to focus too closely on the men's relationship, but they recognized their mutual affection.

"On April 10, 1912, Millet boarded the RMS Titanic at Cherbourg, France, bound for New York City.

His body was recovered after the sinking by the cable boat Mackay-Bennett and returned to East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, where he was buried in Central Cemetery.