Fergus W Campbell was born in Glasgow in 1924. In 1952, he earned the Ph.D. from Glasgow University, later earning an M.D. in 1959. In 1953, Campbell joined Cambridge University, where he would spend the rest of his career.

He was elected to the Royal Society in 1978, and OSA awarded him the Edgar D. Tillyer Award in 1980. Throughout his career, he received many other awards and travelled widely offering guest lectures and visiting professorships.

He retired in 1991, and passed away in 1993.