This article focuses on the historical roots of Ernest Boyer's most popular work, "Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate" (1990). Seeking to transcend the traditional view of scholarship as simply that which is published, Boyer expanded scholarship to include four domains: discovery, application, integration, and teaching. Boyer placed these four domains underneath the unifying principle of the scholarship of engagement. This collective view of scholarship remains a significant part of the conversation on the nature and purpose of research in higher education. Each of Boyer's four domains of scholarship can be traced back to critical events and relationships in his early life and career. Previous biographical literature (Jacobsen 2000; Carnegie Foundation 1996) has either explored Boyer as a man of faith or as an educational leader. No biographical study has been written on Ernest Boyer's views on scholarship; thus, this essay fills a significant gap in the literature. Boyer was a well-known educator whose life and thought have not been well-researched. This article, after a brief discussion of its methodology, examines the historical development of "Scholarship Reconsidered" (E. Boyer 1990). It then analyzes the roots of Boyer's views on scholarship, utilizing Boyer's own four domains of scholarship. Finally, this article explores the significance of these historical moorings and provides conclusions for higher education today.