Born in Hagerstown, Maryland, Young was an infantryman in the United States Army during World War II, from 1942 to 1946.

He was in private practice in Baltimore, Maryland, from 1951 to 1971, and was an instructor at Johns Hopkins University from 1954 to 1964.

[1][JHU_Law 1] On July 19, 1971, Young was nominated by President Richard Nixon to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland vacated by Judge Robert Dorsey Watkins.

Young was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 29, 1971, and received his commission the same day.

[2] Young died on March 14, 2015, in Baltimore of complications from a fall suffered two weeks before his death.