Alexander Pierce Anderson was born in Featherstone Township, Red Wing, Minnesota on November 22, 1862. He was the son of John and Britta Maria Anderson. Anderson received a Master of Science degree from the University of Minnesota in 1895. He received a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Munich in 1897. In January 1897 he became the state botanist of South Carolina. Anderson was a professor and bacteriologist at Clemson College from 1897-1898 and 1900-1901.

While at Clemson, Anderson began experimenting with the "Meyer Starch Granule Theory" which he had learned while studying in Munich. In August 1901, he became curator of the Herbarium at Columbia University in New York. While there, he developed a process to explosively expand starch granules. After receiving a patent on the machinery necessary in 1902, Anderson left Columbia University and began a several decade long partnership with the Quaker Oats Company, producing "puffed wheat" and "puffed rice" cereal products. The products were first introduced to the public at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904 and were eventually packaged under the name "Quaker Crackles".

In 1933, the Alexander P. and Lydia Anderson Fellowship was established at Clemson College for graduates conduction advanced research in the biological sciences. Alexander Pierce Anderson died on May 7, 1943.