The Crucible: Background Notes Arthur Miller was an American play writer and novelist. He was born in New York on Oct. 17, 1915, and attended the University of Michigan. He began his career as a radio script writer. As his lifestyle began to calm down, Miller decided to marry Inge Morath. Arthur Miller was well regarded as an excellent American writer. In fact some critics consider him as having the most serious attempt to gain as much attention as the Greek and Elizabethan writers did. His talent of writing began to exceed standards set by other american writers, and this allowed him to become a two time winner of the New York Drama