Pelzer was born in
Griswold, Iowa, the son of Henry and Sophia Pelzer. He was a graduate of the
Iowa State Teachers College in 1901, and received PhB (1901) and PhD (1909) from the
University of Iowa. He joined the University of Iowa faculty in 1911, was appointed to associate professor in 1917, and full Professor in 1925. He was secretary of the
Big Ten Conference in 1927–1929, a member of the Iowa Centennial Commission in 1938, and editor of the
Mississippi Valley Historical Review from 1941 until his death. In 1917 he married
Mildred Lenore Weenink in
Dillon, Montana. They had two sons, both of whom died in service during
World War II. ==Publications==