Walter Scott Davis was born in Indiana on 29 December 1866. He graduated from DePauw University in 1889 and earned a master’s degree at Cornell University in 1892. Davis studied at the University of Leipzig in 1892, the University of Chicago 1893-1896, Harvard University summer 1903, and the University of Wisconsin summer 1905. Between 1897 and 1907 Scott taught high school in Richmond, Indiana, during which time he was secretary of the Wayne County Historical Society. In 1907 Davis joined the faculty of the University of Puget Sound and taught history and political science. He was head of the history department of the college from 1907 to 1943. He served as a senator in the Washington State legislature and was known thereafter as Senator Davis. Davis was considered to be the historian of the college and authored a history of the college that appeared in the 1921 Tamanawas. Professor Davis retired in 1943 and died at age 76 on 19 June 1943.
From the guide to the Walter S. Davis Papers, 1866-1891, 1866-1943, (University of Puget Sound Archives)
