Earl Roy Miner (February 21, 1927 – April 17, 2004) was a professor at Princeton University, and a noted scholar of Japanese literature and especially Japanese poetry[1]; he was also active in early modern English literature (for instance, his obituary in The New York Times notes that a critical edition of John Milton's Paradise Lost was in the process of being published when he died). He was a major critical authority on John Dryden. He earned his bachelor's degree in Japanese studies and master's and doctoral degrees in English from the University of Minnesota; with this PhD, he joined the English faculty at Williams College (1953–1955) and at UCLA (1955–1972), whereupon he joined Princeton in 1972.
Miner was president of the Milton Society of America, the American Society for 18th Century Studies and the International Comparative Literature Association. He was honored with Princeton's Behrman Award for distinguished achievement in the humanities in 1993.
In 1994, the Japanese government conferred the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, which represents the third highest of eight classes associated with this award.
After a prolonged illness, Miner died in his home in Hightstown, New Jersey, on April 17, 2004.