James R. Edmunds III was born in Baltimore, MD, the son of architect James R. Edmunds, Jr. Like his father, he studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, where he completed a B. Arch. in 1946. While still in Maryland, however, he attended the Ilchester School in Ilchester, MA, and Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA, before finishing high school at the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. He also took courses at Maryland Institute College of Art and Johns Hopkins University night school in engineering. Even before graduating from the University he was employed as a draftsman in Baltimore: from 1934 to 1937 for Consolidated Engineering Company; 1937-1938, for Fraine Brothers, builders; 1938-1941, by the Baltimore City Housing Authority; 1941-1943, by Davison Chemical Corporation, Baltimore; 1943-1945, U.S. Marine Corps as an aviation construction officer; and beginning in 1946 by his father. It is, therefore, not surprising that he returned to Baltimore and joined his father's office after graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, continuing there into the 1970s.

Edmunds joined the AIA in 1947 and was a member of the Baltimore Chapter, serving as vice president and president in the mid-1960s.

Written by Sandra L. Tatman.