Douglas D. Alder was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah.
He was for many years a professor of European history at Utah State University.
It was also under his direction that the College Inn, part of Dixie State's Elderhostel Program, was developed.
He was a Latter-day Saint and served as a counsellor in the presidency of the St. George Utah Temple.
He also wrote A History of Washington County: From Isolation to Destination in 1996 with Karl Brooks.