Roy Victor Peel was born July 26, 1896, in Des Moines, Iowa. He attended Augustana College and received a PhD in political science from the University of Chicago in 1927. From 1927 to 1939, he was on the faculty of the University of Chicago, University of Rochester, and New York University. From 1939 to 1950, he was professor of political science at Indiana University. During World War II, he served with the Army Office of Strategic Services and Office of War Information and was station chief in Denmark for the U.S. Information Service. He became director of the Bureau of the Census in 1950 and served until 1953. During his tenure, he conducted the 17th census in 1950. After government service, he returned to academia and joined the political science department at the University of Utah and later became a professor of political science at California State University at Northridge. He died August 31, 1978, in Los Angeles, California.
From the description of Peel, Roy Victor, 1896-1978 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10581615
