William Logan Threlkeld, the son of Thomas B. and Harriet Taylor Threlkeld, was born in Versailles, Kentucky on August 8, 1893. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry from Georgetown College, Threlkeld served as assistant principal of a Madisonville, Kentucky high school from 1915 to 1917. He served as a lieutenant in the army during World War I, then worked as an instructor in Michigan (1920-1921), a science teacher at Hargrave Academy (1922-1927), and an instructor and research fellow in biology at the University of Virginia, where he would earn his master's (1929) and doctoral (1934) degrees in parasitology. In 1929, Threlkeld was hired as an assistant professor of zoology and biology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In 1938, he was named associate professor; in 1957, professor. Following his 1958 retirement from VPI, Threlkeld worked as a professor of biology at Milligan College from 1959 to 1961 and at Shorter College from 1961 to 1964. He married Carrie Louise Vaden (1898-1994) in 1924, and the couple had three children. William L. Threlkeld died in June, 1988 and was buried in Chatham Burial Park, Chatham (Pittsylvania County), Virginia.
From the guide to the William Logan Threlkeld Papers, 1919-1972, (Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.)
