William B. Unger was born on December 19, 1898, in Baltimore, Maryland. After graduating from Westminster High School in 1916, he earned his A.B. degree from Western Maryland College in 1920. While teaching Zoology at Lafayette College, he obtained his M.S. degree in 1922. Unger then pursued his Ph.D. at Yale University, completing it in 1925. Joining Dartmouth College as an Instructor in Zoology in 1925, Unger was promoted to full Professor by 1935. During a sabbatical in 1937-38, he traveled to various places, including the Fiji Islands, Hawaii, the Philippines, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and China. Known for his teaching skills, Unger published numerous articles and co-authored a laboratory manual in 1942. After teaching at Dartmouth for forty years, Unger retired in 1965 and passed away on November 2, 1975.