Known for founding the their Glastonbury Festival, an annual music event held on the grounds of his dairy farm, this English agriculturist and businessman also pursued a political career, representing the Labour Party in a 1997 election.
After attending Wells Cathedral School, he enlisted in the British Merchant Navy. Following his father's death, he took over his family's Somerset farm.
He was awarded honorary degrees by the University of Bristol and the University of Bath.
His first marriage, to a woman named Ruth, resulted in three children; his later marriage to Jean Hayball produced a daughter named Emily. Following the death of his second wife, he married Liz Eavis.
In 2010, American musician Stevie Wonder performed for the fortieth anniversary of Eavis' Glastonbury Festival.