Roy Vernon Scott was born 26 December 1927 in Wrights, Illinois; his parents were Roy J. and Edna (Dodson) Scott. He served in the U.S. Air Force (1946-1948) prior to attending college, and he achieved the rank of Sergeant. He received the B.S. (1952) from Iowa State College (University) and the M.A. (1953) and Ph.D. (1957) from University of Illinois.



Scott was Assistant Professor (1957-1958) at University of Southwestern Louisiana and Assistant Professor at University of Missouri (1959-1960). Most of his career was spent as a member of the Department of History at Mississippi State University (MSU). At MSU he was Assistant Professor (1960-1962), Associate Professor (1962-1964), and Professor (1964-1978) prior to being named William L. Giles Distinguished Professor of History (1978-1998). He is currently Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History (1998-present) at MSU. He has also been a research associate (1958-1959 and 1963-1964) with the Business History Foundation, St. Paul, Minnesota.



Scott's fields of specialization include early and modern United States history, American economic development, and historiography and historical method. He is the author of numerous articles and books. His books include The Reluctant Farmer: The Rise of Agricultural Extension to 1914 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1971), Railroad Development Programs in the Twentieth Century (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1985), Wal-Mart: A History of Sam Walton's Retail Phenomenon (co-author with Sandra S. Vance) (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1994), and From Prairie Farmer to Entrepreneur: The Transformation of Midwestern Agriculture (co-author with Dennis S. Nordin) (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005).



Scott married Jane A. Brayford in 1959. They have three children: John D., Elizabeth M., and Sarah Ann.