The E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation is saddened to hear of the passing of John Taylor “Ike” Williams, literary agent, lawyer, author, friend, and former Board member of the Foundation. We share our condolences with Mr. Williams’ family and friends.
As a core legacy Board member, John “was a legal and moral core rudder for the organization, who defined many aspects of our focus and the way we did our work.” said Dr. Paula J. Ehrlich, President and CEO of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation and co-founder of the Half-Earth Project.
With a passion for natural science, history, politics, biography, and anthropology, John was dedicated to the world of literary nonfiction. John, the literary agent for E.O. Wilson and many others, was himself an author. His most recent book, The Shores of Bohemia: A Cape Cod Story 1910-1960 (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2022), provides a memorable account of the artists and political revolutionaries who made the Cape a hub of American culture in the early twentieth century.
John was a partner in the Boston law firm of Sennott & Williams. He also co-founded The Kneerim & Williams Agency, LLC, a literary and dramatic rights agency. His practice emphasized the creation, production, and licensing of intellectual property, particularly in publishing, film, television, music, and new media. He served as a Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts Awards Panel and Co-Chair of the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts; was a former Trustee of the Institute of Contemporary Art, The Huntington Theatre, and was serving on the board of The Boston Book Festival.
John Taylor Williams passed away on December 26, 2024.
