Early Years
Quinn was born March 26, 1944 in Glendale, Utah. He originally planned to become a medical doctor, and in preparation he became a nursing aid at his local hospital during his senior year in high school, with a full load of patients doing everything involved except that prohibited by law. In college, however, he failed his pre-med program and had to change majors choosing English and philosophy instead. He served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for two years in England. After graduation he served for three years in the United States Army including service in the Vietnam War. During his military service he was first accepted into Duke University for graduate studies in English but after leaving the Army he realized that he preferred his then hobby of studying history over other subjects. He then applied for a graduate program in history in Yale Graduate School where he graduated with a Ph.D. in 1975. After graduation he took a job teaching and researching history at Brigham Young University. He also worked as a research assistant to then church historian Leonard J. Arrington for 18 months. Quinn taught at BYU until he resigned in January 1988 due to the ongoing pressure from some authorities who wanted to see him leave. At BYU he was elected once as best professor by the graduating class.
Read more about this topic: D. Michael Quinn
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