Jean Williams

Who is Jean Williams?

Jean Williams is a British sports historian and author specialising in Women's history; sport and literature; sportswear and motorsport. Having previously taught English for a decade, Williams is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for Sport History and Culture, De Montfort University. She also acts as a historical consultant to the National Football Museum, particularly for elections to the English Football Hall of Fame. Though mainly known for her work on women’s football, Jean has produced a range of material on the history of sports and the social contexts of events: these include articles on a collection of early modern sporting poems and 1950s British Bridge to a chapter on the Indianapolis 500 motor race in the United States. Jean has also looked at women’s motor racing for a special edition on Britain’s motorists due for publication in 2013. In terms of public history, Jean is very interested in the midlands, writing of Leicestershire cricketer George Geary for Our Sporting Life, an exhibition held at Curve Theatre in February 2011.

Jean is author of A Game For Rough Girls: A History of Women's Football in England and A Beautiful Game: International Perspectives on Women's Football. Jean’s main projects for 2010-11 include a research monograph called A Contemporary History of Women’s Sport and a 17,000 Euro UEFA-funded project Women’s Football, Europe and Professionalization 1971-2011. She is also writing a history of Britain’s Women Olympians 1900-2012. In 2012 the Oxford DNB will publish articles on Leciester swimmer Jennie Fletcher and St Helen’s footballing prodigy Lily Parr, for example. Jean has acted as consultant to sports organisations, including FIFA, and for the media, for example, the BBC Nation on Film Series, BBC Radio 4 and Edwardian Farm. Corporate consultations include deodorant brand Sure.