Theodore William."Doc" Daniel was born November 16, 1907, in San Francisco to John and Margaret Daniel. He had one sibling, Margaret. Daniel married Bernice Starr in 1935 and they later divorced in 1945. In 1947, Daniel remarried Ione Spencer Bennion, who was the Dean of Women at Utah State University at the time. Ione passed away on November 22, 1997.

Daniel Studied at the University of California, Berkeley, where he received a B.S. in Forest Management and Range Management in 1934, an M.S. in Forest Management in 1936 and a Ph.D. in Plant Physiology in 1942. He was one of the first scholars in the United States to earn a doctorate that focused on the conservation of natural resources, and he devoted his life to the field. He was an active member of the Society of American Foresters for his entire career and was elected Fellow in 1983. Daniel spent most of his professional career at Utah State University and he offered continual service at the annual, mandatory Forestry Summer Camp and at the School Forest in Logan Canyon. Daniel husbanded the school forest for fifty years, recording data changes and experiment results. He also supplemented state and university funds for the maintenance and enhancement of the forest through the T.W. Daniel Experimental Forest Operating Endowment. In 1996,."Doc" was honored by the designation of the T.W. Daniel Experimental Forest, a four square-mile section of the Cache National Forest.

Daniel began his career at Utah State University in 1944, spending nearly fifty years teaching the subject of Silviculture. He was senior author of."Principles of Silviculture," a widely used textbook published in 1979 and printed in three languages. He studied on one of the first Austrian Fulbright fellowships in 1951, where he convinced many students to follow him back to the states and continue their studies at Utah State University.

"Doc" Daniel was a longtime member of the Old Main Society and he established scholarships for promising Forestry students. He also supported the Utah State University Women's Center, through which he established additional scholarships. He contributed to other memorial scholarships and was always generous to student organizations.

"Doc" passed away Friday, July 30, 2004 in Logan, Utah at the age of 96.