Photograph undated. David W. Louisell was born in Duluth, Minnesota on December 2, 1913. He received both his undergraduate and law school education at the University of Minnesota. After graduating in 1938, he was called to the bar of his native state in 1938 of New York in 1940, and of the District of Columbia and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1946. He practiced in New York City during 1938-41 and in Washington, D.C. during 1941-42 and 1946-50, a period interrupted by service with the U.S. Navy Reserves during World War II, 1942-45.