Born in Cleveland, Tennessee, Milburn graduated from Chattanooga City High School in 1949.
He was in the United States Army for three years from 1953 to 1956 with the Signal Corps at Camp Gordon, Georgia and the Security agency.
He was a judge on the Circuit Court of Hamilton County, Tennessee, Division III from 1973 to 1983.
[2] Milburn was nominated by President Reagan on September 6, 1984, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 98 Stat.
[2] Milburn died on April 1, 2016, at the Alexian Village Retirement Community, in Signal Mountain, Tennessee.