David Wynne Thorne was born December 19, 1908 in Perry, Utah. After graduating from Box Elder High School, Thorne enrolled at Weber State College and received an AS in Science in 1928. Later that year Thorne was called to serve as a missionary in England for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Thorne served as a missionary for two years before returning to Utah and enrolling in the Utah State Agricultural College (now Utah State University) where he earned a B.S. in Chemistry in 1933. The following year Thorne enrolled at Iowa State College (now Iowa State University) where he earned a M.S. (1934) and a Ph.D. (1936) in Soil Science. Thorne's Ph.D. dissertation was entitled “Some Factors Influencing the Growth and Respiration of Rhizobium.” During 1937 and 1938 Thorne taught at Texas A&M College and also married Alison Comish on August 3, 1937 in Salt Lake City. In 1939 he joined Utah State University's Agronomy Department, where he remained until his retirement in 1974.

Thorne's research as a professor of agronomy at Iowa State College and Texas A&M College in the 1930s and later at Utah State (1939-55) produced valuable publications on the identification of minor element deficiencies in Utah crops and on various soil-water relationships. The insights gained through this research eventually culminated in a book that went through several editions and was published in several languages. Since its 1954 publication, Irrigated Soils-Their Fertility and Management, co-authored with H.B. Peterson, has been a classic in its field because it clarified the importance of soil, climate, crop, fertilizer, and water interactions.

In 1955 Dr. Thorne served a one-year stint as Chief of the TVA's Soil and Fertilizer Research Branch. In 1955, he also relinquished his position as Head of the USU Agronomy Department and became Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station and Director of the newly created Division of Research. That transition marked an end to his scientific career and the assumption of a role in which he vigorously promoted the scientific careers of others. Through his creation and leadership of USU's Division of Research he was able to implement his belief that research must be defined to encompass all scholarly creative activities, including those within the humanities and arts. Simultaneously, Thorne also facilitated research and helped publicize the results and accomplishments of USU's Agricultural Experiment Station personnel.

While fulfilling the responsibilities of leading the Station and the Division (1955-1965), Dr. Thorne also participated in various state, national, and international agricultural and science organizations, committees, and missions. Within Utah, this included extensive work on the problems of industry-generated air-borne contaminants. On the international scene, Thorne was instrumental in establishing the U.S./Russia agricultural scientist exchanges and was the only non-USDA member of the first USDA delegation to Russia. While in Russia, he was presented with a translated version of his book on irrigated soils. His initial written presentation describing a possible Russian/U.S. scientist exchange program was widely used as a model by other government agencies. At various times between 1955 and 1965 he acted as a consultant on soil and water problems for countries such as Iraq, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia. During that same decade he continued to publish technical and semi-technical articles and edited (and wrote a chapter for) the American Association for the Advancement of Science book, Land and Water Use.

In 1965, Dr. Thorne became USU's first Vice President for Research. Later he relinquished directorship of the Station in order to concentrate more effectively on the university's broader research concerns. During the late 1960s, Thorne became involved in attempts to help India solve its food problems. This work led to his 1972 appointment to the board of Governors of the "Consultative Group" of the International Crops Research Institute for Tropical Agriculture in India. His 1968-70 efforts helped provide the foundation for India's present agricultural research program. Late in 1970, he participated in the National Academy of Sciences evaluation of the World Bank's development program for East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and prepared the NAS report.

As Vice President for Research, Wynne Thorne anticipated national scientific trends and strongly urged interdisciplinary work at USU. The Ecology Center, International Biological Programs' Desert Biome, various institutes, and the Environment and Man Program are representative of the results of his commitment to interdisciplinary research.

In 1973, Dr. Thorne resigned as Vice President for Research in preparation for his impending retirement and re-assumed directorship of the Agricultural Experiment Station. As station director in these unpredictable times, he eliminated costly duplication of research efforts and emphasized an imaginative team approach to solving problems. In particular, station personnel were urged to respond creatively to the renewed need for agricultural productivity, pollution problems, and questions of optimizing land use. He was appointed to the Agricultural Board of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Science, an organization that affected national agricultural policy. Thorne died in 1979.