Boyd, absolvent Georgijské univerzity, Dukeovy univerzity a Yaleovy univerzity, začal svoji akademickou kariéru jako asistent fyziky na Georgijské univerzitě a poté působil jako vedoucí katedry matematiky a vědy na Západogeorgijské koleji.
Poté napsal řadu dalších románů: An Ice-Cream War (1982), Brazzaville Beach (1990), The Blue Afternoon (1993), Armadillo (1998), Any Human Heart (2002), Ordinary Thunderstorms (2009) či Waiting for Sunrise (2012).
The founder of Boyd's Packing House and Boyd's Theater and Opera House, he served as the Mayor of Omaha from 1881 to 1883 and from 1885 to 1887, and as the seventh Governor of the state of Nebraska in 1891 and from 1892 – 1893.
JamesBoyd (December 20, 1904 – November 24, 1987) was an American mining engineer and educator. He led the Metals and Minerals Branch of the Commodities Division of the Army–Navy Munitions Board during World War II and served as the 8th…