William R. Kelson is a historian of modern China and its place in the world economy. He has lived in Chengdu, Beijing, Taipei, and Hong Kong. He is currently a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and a fellow at the HKU Society of Fellows in the Humanities.

His research for his manuscript in progress, Empire Unraveled: The Great Crash That Doomed China’s Last Dynasty, undertaken in London and Taipei, was supported by the Luce Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Fulbright-Hays Program, the John E. Rovensky Fellowships in International Business & Economic History, and the Henry Kaufman Financial History Fellowship Program. His other publications are here.

He holds an MA in History from Boston College and a PhD in History from the University of Georgia. He studied Chinese at CET at Beijing Normal University, the Taipei Language Institute, and the IUP Chinese Center at Tsinghua University.

Prior to becoming a historian, he was an indie musician. He lives in Hong Kong with his spouse, the novelist Sanjena Sathian.