John Milton Earle

John Milton Earle (April 13, 1794 – February 8, 1874) was an American businessman, abolitionist, commissioner of the Earle Report, and politician who founded the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in 1829.

Biography John Milton Earle was born in Leicester, Massachusetts to Patience Earle (née Buffum) and Pliny Earle, a member of the prominent Earle family. He was educated in common schools and at the Leicester Academy. He was the editor and publisher of the Massachusetts Spy from 1823 to 1857. The publication was called the Daily Spy after July 22, 1845. The offices were in the Butman Block on Main Street.

Although not a technical Garrisonian abolitionist, he was an early pioneer in Anti-Slavery movement first as a Whig, then as a Free Soiler. He tried to make Worcester County the stronghold of conscientious and determined political opposition to slavery. He was a member of the Massachusetts General Court, or state legislature, for several years, serving in both the House of Representatives (1844–1846 and 1850–1852) and the Senate (1858).

Earle died in Worcester on February 8, 1874, and was buried in its Rural Cemetery.