John B. Davis was born in Evanston, Illinois, on August 30, 1909. He was born deaf and attended the Parker and Bell Grammar schools and the Lane, Evanston, and Wisconsin School for the Deaf for high school. He attended Gallaudet in Washington, DC. He embarked upon a career as a linotype printer. He worked in Washington, DC, Chicago, and California. When he retired as a printer, he became the state coordinator of Rehabilitation Services, and after eight years, he retired for the final time. He was active in the National Fraternal Society of the Deaf, Chicago Club of the Deaf, and the Illinois Association of the Deaf. He fathered three children and has seven grandchildren. A more detailed biography can be found in the collection.