Career
McDavid was born in Greenville, South Carolina, and was an undergraduate at Furman University, from which he received his Bachelor of Arts in 1931. He went on to graduate school at Duke University, from which he received his Master of Arts in 1933 and his Doctor of Philosophy in 1935. McDavid did further graduate work at the University of Michigan and Yale University.
McDavid, who was attached to the Army Language Section in New York City during World World War II, went on to teach at The Citadel, Michigan State University, and Western Reserve University before taking up a position at the University of Chicago in 1957.
He would remain at Chicago until he retired in 1977. McDavid died of a heart attack in Chicago at the age of 73.
