John Milne (Michael) Curran was born on May 18, 1859, in Clonmel, Ireland.

He was a priest, geologist, and lecturer in New South Wales, Australia. He moved to New South Wales to form part of the nucleus of a seminary at Bathurst, for training Irish and Australian priests of the diocesan clergy. He was ordained in 1881 and sent to Dubbo as the diocese’s school inspector. He became interested in geology - a passion he never lost. While in Dubbo Curran began detailed geological research and his article “On fossil plants from Dubbo” was published in the prestigious Linnean Society’s Proceedings. His other publications and surveys dealt with the geology and petrology of Bathurst and other areas and included studies on leucite-basalt rocks and Carboniferous and Silurian fossils. His book “The Geology of Sydney and the Blue Mountains” (1899) became the standard reference for this area. As he built a strong reputation as an outstanding geologist, he was appointed lecturer in geology and mineralogy at Sydney Technical College (1897-1902). During this time, he still maintained his clergy duties at Bathurst and went on numerous field trips. After leaving the University, Curran was appointed government geologist.

He died on June 29, 1928, in Centennial Park, New South Wales, Australia.