Born: June 11, 1941, in Teaneck, New Jersey, United States
David Edward Stannard was born to Florence E. Harwood Stannard and David L. Stannard, a businessman. He worked as a branch manager for Time Inc. from 1963 to 1968. In 1966 he married Valerie M. Nice. The couple have two sons.
Stannard graduated magna cum laude from San Francisco State College in 1971. He then went to Yale and obtained a master's degree in philosophy in 1973 and a Ph.D. in 1975.
He is a member of the American Historical Association and enjoys doing research. As a writer and professor in the Department of American Studies at the University of Hawaii, he has contributed several articles to periodicals on American culture. His Shrinking History, published in 1980, was chosen by Psychology Today as one of the 'best books of the year'.