1. Ronald Davis Bitton was a charter member and president of the Mormon History Association, professor of history at the University of Utah, and official Assistant Church Historian in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints working with Leonard J Arrington.
Davis Bitton started playing piano at age six and was a talented pianist.
Davis Bitton then served in the United States Army during the Korean War.
Davis Bitton graduated in 1956 from BYU with a BA in history.
Davis Bitton was a professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin until 1961 when he started teaching at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Davis Bitton then joined the University of Utah faculty in 1966 where he taught for 29 years until his retirement in 1995.
Davis Bitton referred to this time as "Camelot", an exciting time of unprecedented development of new Mormon historical research.
Davis Bitton married his wife Joan in 1984, and later in life they served together as guides on Temple Square for five years.
Davis Bitton died at the age of 77 in Salt Lake City.
Davis Bitton has been presented five awards by the MHA.
In 1979, Arrington and Davis Bitton were given the MHA Best Book Award for The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latterday Saints.