Luther A. Knight, Jr., a native of Clarendon, Arkansas, spent his childhood in Clarendon before entering the United States Air Force right out of high school in 1950. After his tour of duty in the Air Force, he earned a BSE degree from Arkansas State College and master’s and PhD degrees from the University of Mississippi. He joined the faculty of the University of Mississippi in 1968 and retired as a professor emeritus of biology in 1991.

 In the “publish or perish” world of academia, Dr. Knight published more than 30 scientific articles and reports related to aquatic ecology, fisheries biology, aquatic toxicology and limnology, which contributed to a better understanding of Mississippi reservoir ecosystems. He directed five doctoral and 12 master’s students to the completion of their degrees in aquatic biology. He was lead investigator on over 15 funded aquatic research projects.

 Knight was the founding director of the University of Mississippi Biological Field Station, playing a major role in acquiring and developing this nationally recognized facility. Though he retired in 1991, he was recruited in 1995 to return as interim director for the station until a permanent director could be hired; he served in this capacity for about a year. Knight was selected “Distinguished Fisheries Professional” by the Mississippi Chapter of the American Fisheries Society in 1991. He was named “Mississippi Soil, Air and Water Conservationist of the Year” in 1995 by the Mississippi Wildlife Federation.

 After his second retirement from Ole Miss Knight, began a new career as a fiction writer. He is author of suspense novels The Tomato Patch and Cache River. Myrtle Beach, his third book released March 15, 2010 is also a suspense work.

 He married Janis M. King of Malden, Missouri, in 1955. They have two sons, Scott an ecologist with the United States Department of Agriculture and Charles an administrator with the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science. Scott and his wife, Kathy, have two children, Brad and Anna, and live in Oxford, Mississippi. Charles and his son, Samuel, live in Jackson, Mississippi. Luther Knight and his wife, Janis, live in Oxford, Mississippi.