Symmes Chadwick (Chad) Oliver was born on March 30, 1928, in Cincinnati, Ohio, residing there until his family moved to Crystal City, Texas during World War II. He discovered science fiction at age 12, as he recovered from a bout of rheumatic fever, and never lost his love for the genre. Oliver attended the University of Texas at Austin, earning a B. A. degree in 1951, and a Master's degree in English in 1952. His thesis, "They Builded a Tower," was one of the earlier critical studies of the genre. His letters reveal an early attraction to anthropology that culminated in 1961 with a Ph. D. in anthropology from UCLA, and field study in Kenya. Oliver sold his first science fiction story in 1950 and remained active as a writer for the rest of his life. He is credited with being the first writer to insert an anthropological slant into a body of work. In addition to his science fiction, Oliver wrote three western novels, two of which won awards from the Western Writers of America.

Chad Oliver taught anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin from the early 1960s through 1992 and received awards for teaching excellence in 1980, 1982, and 1989. A liberal arts scholarship bears his name at the University of Texas at Austin. Chad Oliver died on August 15, 1993, in Austin, Texas. He is survived by his wife, Betty Jane (Beje), and two children, Kim and Glenn.