Miles James McMillin, editor and publisher of the Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin, was born in Crandon, Wisconsin on March 12, 1913. He studied political science and languages at the University of Wisconsin and received a law degree in 1941.
In 1945, following a four-year stint as assistant editor of the Progressive, McMillin joined the Capital Times as editorial writer and political columnist. He also covered Wisconsin politics for several other publications including the New York Times, the New York Post, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Nation, and The New Republic. Frequently criticized for his liberal editorial stance, McMillin was an early critic of Joseph R. McCarthy and the Vietnam War.
In 1955, McMillin married Elsie Rockefeller, former wife of Senator William Proxmire. They were the parents of two children, Nancy and Miles James, and two stepchildren, Teddy and Elsie (Cici) Proxmire.
By 1967, McMillin had become executive publisher of the Capital Times. He rose to editor and publisher in 1970, and eventually became chairman of the board of Madison Newspapers Inc., the corporation which owned the Capital Times and the Wisconsin State Journal.
During his early career McMillin travelled throughout Wisconsin speaking before labor unions and rural cooperatives about the cooperative movement, freedom of the press, Wisconsin politics, and related topics. In addition to his political activities McMillin was active in state and local civic and professional organizations such as the Madison Consumer's Cooperative, Madison Kiddie Camp, and the Wisconsin Bar Association. He was vice president of the William T. Evjue Foundation and trustee of the William T. Evjue Charitable Trust.
McMillin retired in 1978, and suffering from terminal cancer, committed suicide in 1982.
