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Otis A. Pease was a history professor and author. He was widely known for his productive academic career as a scholar and professor of U.S. history. Peace was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1925 to Frederic and Ruth Pease. He graduated summa cum laude from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1943. He enlisted in the Army after his first semester at Yale University. While serving in the military from 1943 to 1946, he was awarded a Purple Heart for injuries sustained during the Battle of the Bulge. After his military service, he returned to Yale University where he received a B.A. in American Studies in 1949 and a Ph.D. in History in 1954. Pease taught for two years at the University of Texas (1953-55) and ten years at Stanford University (1956-1966). He joined the Department of History at the University of Washington in 1966, where he served as department chair from 1967-1972, and retired as Professor Emeritus in 1995. He supervised numerous theses and doctoral dissertations during his lengthy career as a scholar and professor.

Pease served on the Stanford University Board of Trustees from 1969 to1985, and was a life member in the American Historical Association, an organization in which he served as vice president. Pease’s areas of expertise included the Progressive Era, the history of American advertising, civil rights, urban politics and reform, Pacific Coast history, the American character, and the experience of American soldiers in World War II. He published many articles and several books, including Parkman's History: The Historian as Literary Artist(1953); The Responsibilities of American Advertising: Private Control and Public Influence, 1920-1940(1958); The Progressive Years: The Spirit and Achievement of American Reform(as editor, 1962); and Blueberry Pie: The Meaning of WWII for the Americans Who Fought in It(2007).

Pease participated in activities that promoted social justice. In 1964, he worked as a volunteer and consultant for the Mississippi Summer Project (also known as Freedom Summer) through the Council of Federated Organizations, particularly the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, assisting with African American voter registration and related civil rights projects in Mississippi. He also had an appreciation for music and the arts. He was a skilled pianist and vocalist. Pease was a founding member of the Northwest Chamber Chorus and performed with them for over thirty years. Pease died in Seattle in 2010.