Harold S. Madsen was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on April 23, 1926. He was a dedicated member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served a mission for the Church in the Texas/Louisiana area. Madsen also served in bishoprics and on the High Council as well as various other Church teaching callings. Harold S. Madsen attended the University of Utah, where he studied English, gaining both his bachelor's and master's at this institution. Following this, he attended the University of Colorado, where he obtained his doctorate of English. On September 12, 1952 he married Mona Darton in the Salt Lake City Temple. Harold S. Madsen taught at Brigham Young University for thirty-three years, first in the English department and later on within the Linguistics department. Madsen was publicly recognized for many of his achievements. He received the Intermountain in TESOL distinguished service award, the ASBYU blue key Professor of the month award, the BYU Karl G. Maeser research and creative arts award, the 2003 BYU Emeriti association special recognition award and various others. Harold and his wife Mona continued to serve LDS missions together within their married life, flying to Capetown, South Africa; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Harold S. Madsen passed away on July 10, 2006 from the effects of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.