Clark S. Knowlton was born on December 31, 1919, to parents Ezra Clark Knowlton and Mary Albrea Shumway in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was able to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Argentina before serving in World War II. After the war, he studied sociology and acquired both a B.A. and M.A. Later he moved on to Vanderbilt, where he received his PhD in sociology. After his academic life he went on to teach at Georgia Southern College, New Mexico Highlands University, was the chairman of the department of sociology at Texas Western University, and at University of Utah. During his prestigious career as a distinguished professor, he was able to write copious articles that were later published in sociology journals across the United States. He actively participated in community government and acted as a member of the El Paso Community Action Board, the Board of Trustees in Salt Lake City, and part of the Multi-Purpose Center Advisory Board in Salt Lake City. He married his wife Ruth Marion De Young in 1948, and they had one child together. He died on January 20, 1991, in Salt Lake City, Utah.