Born on 30 September 1929 in the village of Smokovo in Karditsa regional unit, Vassilis Papazachos studied physics in the University of Athens, Greece. He received a M.Sc. in geophysics from Saint Louis University (1963) and a doctorate in Seismology from the University of Athens (1961). He first became involved in geophysics as an assistant of professor Angelos Galanopoulos (1955–1956) and then moved to the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens (1956–1977). Later in his career he became Professor of Seismology in the Aristotle University (1977–1998), where he was still active as an emeritus professor.