William R. Phillippe was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pa. He was mostly raised by his grandfather, a politician who, for fifty-five years held the position Chief of the Bureau of Electricity of the City of Pittsburgh. When he retired, he took over the job of raising the boy because his father, an electrician, was going to the night school of the University of Pittsburgh to get his Engineer Degree and his mother was teaching high school English.
Dr. Phillippe, a graduate of Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio, where he majored in philosophy and ethics, has published four books, a number of articles, and has spoken at several Universities and Colleges.