William Bart Saxbe was born June 24, 1916, in Mechanicsburg, Ohio. Saxbe earned an A.B. (1940) and an LL.B. (1948) from Ohio State University. He served the U.S. Army from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1952. Saxbe's political career began in the Ohio State House of Representatives (1947-1954); he went on to become Ohio attorney general (1957-1958, 1963-1968). Saxbe was also elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate, serving there from 1968 to 1974.

He resigned in 1974 to become U.S. attorney general for President Richard Nixon. He continued in that position in the administration of Gerald Ford until 1975. He then served as U.S. ambassador to India until 1977, returning to law practice thereafter.