He was born on a farm in Hancock County, Ohio, the son of Robert Wilson and Harriet Welsh Campbell.

After a few years of local schooling he entered in 1882 the University of Michigan to study civil engineering, graduating Bachelor of Science in 1886.

[4] After graduating he was appointed Professor of Mathematics at the University of Colorado but soon moved back to Michigan as an instructor in astronomy.

In August 1914, Campbell and Erwin Freundlich of the Berlin Observatory were in Russia to photograph a solar eclipse, in an early attempt to test the validity of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity.

The cameras he used were not adequate to provide the measurement accuracy needed to confirm the deflection of star light predicted by Einstein's theory.

Final and uncontested confirmation is generally dated to Campbell's 1922 Lick Observatory expedition to Australia to photograph the solar eclipse.

[citation needed] Elizabeth contributed greatly to Campbell's work and played an important role in his success as a scientist.