Alan D. Conger was born in Muskegon, Michigan in 1917. He earned his bachelor’s and doctorate degrees in biology at Harvard University. Conger enlisted in the Army and served in the Weather Service the day after seeing the attack on Pearl Harbor. He became a researcher for Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee after getting out of the Army. Conger went on to work at the University of Florida, Temple University, and the University of Pennsylvania. He also headed the Radiation Research Society and edited several major journals. He died in his home in Philadelphia on December 22, 1995. He had three children, Lucy, Priscilla, and Alan Jr. with his wife Priscilla.

Conger was a former student of Karl Sax (1892-1973), having him as a teacher throughout his collegiate career. Karl Sax was a scientist and scholar with his work focusing largely on botany and genetics. Conger held Karl Sax and his wife, Dr. Hally Jolivette Sax (1884-1972), in high regard, looking to them as an adopted family.