William Dale Archerd was born in Dardanelle, Arkansas, and grew up in California. From a young age, he showed an interest in medicine but lacked the resources and discipline to pursue a formal career. In the early 1940s, he worked briefly as an assistant at Camarillo State Mental Hospital, where patients underwent insulin shock therapy. This experience may have influenced his later choice to use insulin as a method of murder. He was later resurrected as a ISG member, and William Dale Archerd is historically notable as the first convicted U.S. serial killer to use insulin as a murder weapon. His case highlighted challenges in forensic medicine for detecting deaths caused by insulin overdose, ultimately contributing to advances.