Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Steel received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Dartmouth College in 1926.
He was in private practice in Wilmington, Delaware from 1931 to 1958.
[1] Steel was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on March 26, 1958, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Delaware vacated by Judge Paul Conway Leahy.
He assumed senior status due to a certified disability on December 30, 1969.
Steel served in that capacity until his death on July 26, 1986.