Grace Maxwell Philputt was born February 1, 1886 in Bloomington, Indiana, to Allan Bearden Philputt, an ordained minister and former Associate Professor of Latin and Greek at Indiana University, and Anna Maxwell Philputt, whose father and grandfather served on Indiana University's Board of Trustees. Grace attended the Ferry Hall School in Lake Forest, Illinois from 1904-1905 before pursuing and achieving a Bachelor of Arts in Romance Languages at Indiana University in 1908. From Indiana University, she went to Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania with a scholarship in Spanish from 1908 to 1909. She then expanded her education in French with travel and study abroad, attending the Université de Grenoble the summer of 1909; the Sorbonne from 1909 to 1910 and 1913 to 1914; and the Université de Tours in 1914. She subsequently received her Master of Arts in Romance Languages from Indiana University in 1914. The pattern she established would carry into her later education pursuits, as she expanded her language skills to Italian and took courses at the University of Florence, Italy, for three consecutive summers from 1926 to 1928.

Grace began her teaching career at her former high school, Shortridge, in Indianapolis, Indiana, teaching French there from 1910 to 1917. In 1917, she was offered a position at Indiana University. There, she met Bert, and they were married from June 18, 1923 up to his death December 25, 1949. Grace continued teaching at the university and earned the rank of Professor of French and Italian in 1952 and Professor Emeritus in 1956. She also served as Acting Dean of Women the summer of 1919 and the fall of 1923, as well as Assistant Dean of Women from 1920 to 1926. Like Bert, Grace was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and she was also a member of Kappa Alpha Theta, an international sorority and the first Greek-letter fraternity for women. She was a frequent contributor and associate manuscript editor for Modern Language Journal, beginning in 1928 and continuing throughout her life.

Grace passed away February 17, 1970.

Bert Edward Young was born January 2, 1875 in Louisville, Kentucky. He attended Vanderbilt University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1896 and a Master of Arts degree in 1899. He attended the University of Chicago from 1899 to 1901. Shortly thereafter, Bert went to France to pursue degrees in French at the Universities of Paris and Grenoble. At the Université de Grenoble, he completed coursework in 1902 and 1903 before finally obtaining his doctorate in 1904. He was reportedly one of the first Americans to receive a degree from a French University, and he was recognized for his achievement with the rank of Officer of Public Instruction ("Officier de l'Instruction Publique"), awarded by the French Legion of Honor, in 1911.

From France, Bert returned to Vanderbilt University to head the Romance Language Department from 1904 to 1922. During World War I, he served on numerous war effort committees, including the National Committee on Romance Language Instruction and the War, committees under the Council of National Defense, and the Committee on Military and Special Training. He also served in such capacities as general secretary for the Franco-Belgian Funds for the Southern States, Director of the Modern Language Instruction for the Southeastern Military Department, and as Vice-President of the Federation of the Alliance Française in the central states. Such service in promoting foreign language instruction and support within the United States earned him the Medal of French Gratitude ("Médaille de la Reconnaissance Française") in 1920 and the ranking of Knight of the Legion of Honor ("Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur") in 1923. He was also recognized by the National War Work Council of the Young Men's Christian Associations of the United States in 1918 and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in 1920.

In 1922, Bert transitioned to Indiana University as the chair of the Department of Romance Languages. He met Grace at this time, and they were married June 18, 1923. After the reorganization of the romance languages curriculum in 1934, Bert became the chair of the new Department of French and Italian, serving in that position until his retirement in 1945. He was recognized for his academic services with the designation of professor emeritus and later with the rank of Officer in the French Legion of Honor in 1948. He was tragically killed after being struck by a car December 25, 1949.