Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Robert McDowell Parker Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of a construction equipment salesman and his wife. He received a degree in history and art history from the University of Maryland at College Park. In 1973 he received a doctorate degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore. He worked as assistant general counsel for the Farm Credit Banks of Baltimore.

In 1978, he founded the magazine The Wine Advocate. In 1984, he became a full-time writer about wine.