Scott was born to Roy J. Scott and the former Edna Dodson in Wrights, an unincorporated community in Greene County in west-central [[Illinois]]. He served from 1944 to 1948 in the [[United States Army]] Air Corps]], organized in 1947 into the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]]. In 1952, he received his Bachelor of Science degree from [[Iowa State University]] in Ames, [[Iowa]]. He subsequently received his [[Master of Arts]] and his [[Ph.D.]] in history from the [[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]] in 1953 and 1957, respectively.<ref name=lloyd>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RfXGJBB1HvoC&pg=PA404 |author=James B. Lloyd |title=Lives of Mississippi Authors, 1817-1967 |publisher=Google Books|accessdate=July 19, 2010}} p. 404.</ref> | Scott was born to Roy J. Scott and the former Edna Dodson in Wrights, an unincorporated community in Greene County in west-central [[Illinois]]. He served from 1944 to 1948 in the [[United States Army]] Air Corps]], organized in 1947 into the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]]. In 1952, he received his Bachelor of Science degree from [[Iowa State University]] in Ames, [[Iowa]]. He subsequently received his [[Master of Arts]] and his [[Ph.D.]] in history from the [[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]] in 1953 and 1957, respectively.<ref name=lloyd>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RfXGJBB1HvoC&pg=PA404 |author=James B. Lloyd |title=Lives of Mississippi Authors, 1817-1967 |publisher=Google Books|accessdate=July 19, 2010}} p. 404.</ref> |