Allworth was born in Battle Ground, Washington, Allworth graduated from Oregon Agricultural College in 1916. He enlisted at Corvallis, Oregon in 1917 and joined the 60th Infantry Regiment of the 5th Division. On November 5, 1918, mere days from the armistice, Allworth and his company crossed the Meuse River via a canal bridge near the French village of Clery-le-Petit. When shellfire destroyed the bridge and separated the company into two halves, Allworth swam across with some of his men while under fire from the enemy. Leading a subsequent charge towards the enemy lines, he forced them back one kilometre, taking 100 prisoners and thus capturing the bridgehead.

For this action, Allworth received the Medal of Honor. In 1925, Allworth rejoined the Oregon Agricultural College faculty as secretary of the Alumni Association, secretary of the Memorial Union Board of Governors, and manager of the Memorial Union. He published a set of memoirs titled Edward C. Allworth Papers, 1954-1963[4] before he retired in 1963. He died in Portland, Oregon on June 24, 1966.