Born in the small village of Ṣuren-Okenla (or Shuren) in what is now in Ifo Local Government in Ogun State, Nigeria, he was one of the first Nigerians to have a full western education from his youth.

[3] During the 1950s, during a time when movements for African independence grew, Delano served as a powerful nationalist and a voice of the people through his writing.

Unable to afford school tuitions for a Cambridge University education, he became a clerk for the British colonial administration in Lagos, serving there until an accident in 1947.

This dictionary was groundbreaking because earlier books had attempted to explain Yoruba using conventional English grammar tools, which did not work.

He was quick to judge those who often dismissed women as prominent members of ancient Yoruba government, citing the story of Moremi Ajasoro.

[9] For his advancement of the Yorùbá people and his position as a teacher of the Yoruba language, and culture, he was appointed as the first Administrative Secretary of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa.

[1] He was granted many chieftaincy titles, including that of the Bajiki Ake of Egbaland (given to him by Ọba Ladapo Ademola) and the Babasale of Okenla, his hometown.