William Powell Jones (1901-1989) was born in Cochran, Georgia on October 30, 1901, son of Walter Colquitt Jones, a Methodist preacher, and his wife Melvina Powell Jones. After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta in 1921, he taught English in Japan under the aegis of the Southern Methodist Missionary Board from 1921-1923. He earned his Masters degree in English from Harvard University in 1925, and his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1927. He was a member of the faculty there from 1928-1930.

In 1930 he joined the faculty at Western Reserve University (WRU), where he remained for the rest of his career, with the exception of his service in World War II. From 1943-1945, he was a Major in the Military Intelligence Service, researching manpower levels in the Japanese military.

At WRU, after the war, he taught 18th century literature, Chaucer and great books. He was the dean of Adelbert College from 1947-1954, and chairman of the English Department from 1953 until he retired in 1967. Jones was a member of the Rowfant Club (a Cleveland bibliophilic society) for over 30 years, serving as its president in 1958, and was a member of the Gates Mills Improvement and Historical Society. He died of heart failure on July 28, 1989.