Duncan Eve Jr. was born in Nashville, Tennessee. He attended Vanderbilt University and graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1904. He entered into surgical practice with his father, the renowned Dr. Duncan Eve, Sr., and later succeeded him as chief surgeon for the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis railroad and as district surgeon for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Eve, Jr. made many contributions toward the management of railroad injuries, particularly complex fracture problems. In fact, one of his most outstanding contributions was a book on the treatment of fractures, published in 1947.

Eve also held appointments as Clinical Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical School and as instructor for the resident surgical staff at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville. He passed away in 1963.