Simkin was born on January 13, 1907, in Merrifield, New York and was raised in Poplar Ridge, New York. He majored in engineering at Earlham College, but chose to pursue economics after taking a few courses in the subject during his senior year. He was principal of a high school in Sherwood, New York in 1928 and spent five years working for the American Friends Service Committee during the Great Depression, including time he spent teaching at the Brooklyn Friends School while attending Columbia University.Staff. "Unruffled Mediator", The New York Times, April 21, 1965. Accessed June 30, 2009.Lambert, Bruce. "William E. Simkin Is Dead at 85; Federal Labor Mediator in 1960's", The New York Times, March 7, 1992. Accessed June 30, 2009.
