Thomas David Schoonover was born on May 27, 1936 in Winona, Minnesota. Schoonover was a teacher, author, and scholar. He received his B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1958, his M.A. from Louisiana State University in 1961, and his Ph.D. in 1970 at the University of Minnesota. He attended the University of Madrid during the summer of 1967, and schools in Germany, Spain, and France to study different languages. He reads and speaks German, Spanish, and French, and reads Portuguese, Dutch, and Italian. He has received many honors and grants, and was active in many professional organizations. Most of his research and publications focused on Central American history.

Dr. Schoonover taught at the University of Minnesota and Louisiana State University as a teaching assistant while in school. His master’s thesis was titled “The Military Thought of Thomas Jackson and William Sherman”; his dissertation was titled “Mexican-United States Relations, 1861-1867.” Other institutions he worked at include the University of Bielefield (Germany), University of Wisconsin (LaCrosse), University of Maryland, Cornell University (visiting professor) and University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette). At USL, he taught American and Latin American history until his retirement.