Donald E. Worster was born in Needles, California on November 14, 1941. He recieved his B.A. and M.A. in English and Speech from the University of Kansas in 1963 and 1964. He earned his doctorate in American History and Literature from Yale University in 1971.

Worster taught at multiple Universities: University of Maine (1964-66), Yale University (1969-71), University of Hawaii at Manoa (1975-84), and Brandeis University (1971-74, 1984-89) before coming to the University of Kansas as a Hall Distinguished Professor of American History in 1989. He became a Professor Emeritus at K.U. in 1995.

Worster's primary research interests have been in the developing field of environmental history and in the U.S. West. Worster is the author of numerous books, many of which have won awards, including A River Running West, Dust Bowl, and A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir. He has been involved in many organizations, serving as a Guggenheim Fellow from 1981-82, president of the American Society for Environmental History, and he was elected to the Society of American Historians in 1988. He is married to Beverley Marshall Worster and they have two children, William and Catherine.