Millington Farwell Carpenter was born October 21, 1888 in Monticello, Iowa. He received his A.B. from the University of Chicago in 1911. He taught at public schools in Houston for two years, followed by two years of service in the Army (stateside) during World War I. He joined the English Department at the University of Iowa in 1919 as assistant. With his athletic experience in track while at the University of Chicago, he became a teacher of Physical Education at Iowa from 1920 to 1921, and then worked as secretary in the English Department for one year. Carpenter did not take an M.A., but took his Ph.D. at Iowa in 1924.

In 1922, Carpenter was an instructor of English in the University High School on the University of Iowa campus, and rose to associate professor and head of English at that school. His area of interest was in teaching methods, which was a large focus of the high school. At the high school, he also served as track coach, debate coach, play director, and student publication advisor. In 1950 he began teaching literature in the College of Liberal Arts. He retired in 1957, but continued to teach one class each semester until 1964. The Millington F. Carpenter professorship of literary criticism was established in 1963. Millington Carpenter died January 6, 1967.