Millikan Stalker was born on August 6, 1841, the fifth in a family of eight children of George and Hannah (Millikan) Stalker, who emigrated to Iowa from Indiana when Millikan was 10 years old and settled on a farm near Richland in Keokuk County.
Millikan Stalker attended the Spring Creek Institute (now Spring Creek Academy) near Oskaloosa, sponsored by the Society of Friends. After completing his coursework at the Spring Creek Institute, he traveled to Tennessee and taught in the Freedman's schools established by the Union army in 1864. In March 1870 he began his studies at Iowa Agricultural College (now College of Agriculture and Life Sciences) and graduated in the fall of 1873.
In 1876 Millikan Stalker pursued his lifelong interest in veterinary medicine, taking courses at the New York College of Veterinary Surgeons and Toronto Veterinary College in Ontario. He obtained a degree in veterinary science from the Toronto school in 1877.
During his student days, Millikan Stalker served as editor of the first student newspaper, the Aurora, which began in June 1873. Upon his graduation, he was immediately appointed an instructor in agriculture and superintendent of the college farm, and in 1875 was promoted to assistant professor.
In 1877 Millikan Stalker returned to Ames to teach agriculture and veterinary science. In a state in which stock raising was so critical, the land grant school in Ames was an obvious place to create a state-supported school of veterinary medicine, so in 1879 the first such school was established, with Stalker as its first head. From 1879 to 1886 the veterinary course was for two years, after which it was extended to three years. Graduates were awarded the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree.
With his appointment as head of the veterinary school, Millikan Stalker spent the next two decades working to expand and improve both the curriculum and the physical facilities for the new program. In 1898 the veterinary program was reorganized, and President William Beardshear added to Stalker's duties the task of the dean of the Veterinary Division.
In 1900 Millikan Stalker stepped down from administrative work and fully retired from the college. Known as an excellent teacher who could explain clearly the intricacies of horse anatomy, he was also a tenacious and committed advocate for the fledgling veterinary science program, and he worked tirelessly for increased funding for more staffing and always better facilities.
In addition to his work in Ames, Millikan Stalker was also instrumental in getting established in 1884 the Office of State Veterinary Surgeon in Iowa with the power to enforce various state regulations relating to contagious diseases. For 11 years he served as state veterinarian.
Starler's Quaker roots remained strong throughout his life.
Upon his retirement from his professional duties, Millikan Stalker joined the American Peace Society and in 1905 was selected to attend the World Peace Conference in Lucerne, Switzerland. He also was a regular at the annual Peace and Arbitration conferences held at Lake Mohonk, New York. A generous donor to William Penn College, Millikan Stalker served for three years as a member of its board of trustees.
Millikan Stalker was a lifelong bachelor.
