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George Eugene England Jr., was born in Logan, Utah to George Eugene and Dora Rose Hartvigsen England in 1933. He grew up in Downey, Idaho, working on a wheat farm. He married Charlotte Hawkins at age 20 and they were both called to serve an LDS mission to Samoa in 1954. England graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in English in 1958. He served briefly as a captain in the U.S. Air Force, and received a Special Graduate from M.I.T. in 1959. England entered graduate school at Stanford University on a Danforth Fellowship, and received his Masters in 1969 and Ph.D. in 1974. While at Stanford, he cofounded Dialogue in 1966, an independent LDS studies journal. While attending Stanford, England taught at California State College at Hayward, as well as teaching LDS Institute of Religion courses. In 1970 England moved to Minnesota with his wife and six children to be Dean of Academic Affairs and teach at St. Olaf Lutheran College. His contract ended in 1975 after some students showed interest in the LDS faith. That same year he moved back to Utah and applied to both the University of Utah and Brigham Young University English Departments, but was not hired. For two years, England focused on writing, worked in the LDS Church Archives, and teachings at the Salt Lake and Ogden LDS Institutes of Religion. He was hired at Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1977.

While at BYU, England taught classes in LDS, as well as American, literature. He also helped expand the Freshman Live Learn experiences, the Honors Program, and start Theatre Study Abroad in London. England was Distinguished Honors Professor of the Year in 1982 and also received the Karl G. Maeser Teaching Award. England helped with the restructuring of the student government at BYU to help it become a service organization. He was also the advisor for off-campus newspapers, including Seventh East Press and the Student Review. During his time at BYU, England published most of his books and writings, including many of his personal essays. He continued to participate in Dialogue, as well as publishing in Sunstone. England was affiliated with many other associations, including: the International Shakespeare Association, Modern Language Association, Mormon History Association, Philological Association of the Pacific Coast, Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association, Shakespeare Association of America, and the Western Literature Association.

During the 1980s issues with academic freedom arose at BYU and England spoke out, challenging the administration and calling the faculty and students to action. After twenty-two years of teaching he was forced to accept retirement from BYU in 1998 at a time when a number of liberal professors were being dismissed. England still wanted to be involved in creating a space for students and teachers to ask the hard questions, especially concerning religion and ethics. England began to teach at Utah Valley State College (now Utah Valley University) in 1998, and was asked to be the Writer in Residence. During his brief tenure at UVSC, England helped start a LDS Studies Program, the first of its kind, which was attached to the college's Religious Studies program. While in the process of developing this program, England unexpectedly died of brain cancer in 2001.

[Biography written by Charlotte Hansen]

Further information regarding Eugene England can be found at www.eugeneengland.org