John B. Ransom, III was born September 12, 1920 in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of Marie Litton Howe Ransom and John Bostick Ransom, Jr. He graduated from Wallace University School and attended Vanderbilt University from 1938-1940. He then transferred to the University of the South (Sewanee) and received the B.A. in 1942. He served in the U.S. Army in World War II. After the war he attended Stanford University where he earned an M.A. degree in American Literature. His Master’s Essay at Stanford was an analyis of the writings of Robert Penn Warren. After Stanford he attended Oxford University and the Sorbonne in Paris, France. Later, in Paris he served for ten years as Education Adviser for the Army’s Seine Area Command. In that position he administered a program in which American military and civilian personnel could earn college credits in courses offered by the University of Maryland. After Paris he accepted the position of Director of Admissions at Sewanee where he served for many years. Retiring from that position, he became Secretary of the University until his retirement. He died in Sewanee on March 4, 2000.