20 Facts About Tony Earl

Anthony Scully Earl was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served as the 41st governor of Wisconsin from 1983 until 1987.

Tony Earl served three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Marathon County.

Tony Earl graduated from Michigan State University in 1958 and earned a JD from the University of Chicago.

Tony Earl was the district attorney of Marathon County, Wisconsin from 1965 to 1966, and the city attorney of Wausau, Wisconsin from 1966 to 1969.

In 1974, Tony Earl left the Assembly to run for Wisconsin Attorney General, but was defeated in the primary by Bronson La Follette.

Later, Tony Earl became Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources where his list of accomplishments include addressing the State's surface water pollution.

In 1982, Earl ran for governor when Lee S Dreyfus unexpectedly declined to run for re-election, and soon the Wisconsin Democratic Party's hopes of reclaiming the governor's mansion became very real.

Tony Earl went on to defeat the Republican candidate, Terry Jodok Kohler, in a landslide victory.

However, Tony Earl's tenure as governor was a challenge from the start.

Once the state was fiscally sound, Tony Earl passed initiatives improving the environment, education, and equal opportunity.

Tony Earl appointed Doris Hanson, the State's first female to hold the office of secretary of the Department of Administration and Howard Fuller, the first African-American appointed to a cabinet position heading the Department of Employee Relations.

Earl Bricker wrote an essay, "goodbye to Wisconsin Governor Tony Earl" bemoaning that Tommy Thompson had defeated Earl in the 1986 election, and that his "pro-family" stance may have given him wider demographic appeal than Earl's defense of gay and lesbian rights.

Tony Earl served on the governing board of "Common Cause Wisconsin" from 1995 until 2005.

In 1990, Tony Earl was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board and served until 1996.

Tony Earl served on the board of the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation for many years until 2013.

In July 2004, Tony Earl was recognized at the 12th Annual Outreach Awards for his acknowledgment of the needs of the gay and lesbian community during his term in office; he received the organization's Political Courage Award.

Tony Earl served on the board of directors of the American Transmission Company which assumed ownership, operation, planning, maintenance, and monitoring of all the electrical transmission assets formerly owned by a number of Wisconsin utility companies, cooperatives, and municipal utilities.

Tony Earl was a past partner in one of the largest law firms in Wisconsin, Quarles and Brady.

Tony Earl married Sheila Rose Coyle of Chicago, in the summer of 1962.

Tony Earl had a stroke on February 19,2023, and died four days later, on February 23, at the UW Health University Hospital, 48 days short of his 87th birthday.