John L. Teall was born on October 8, 1926, in New Haven, Connecticut. He served in the U.S. Army from 1944-1946 in the Philippines and Japan. He received a B.A. in 1948 and an M.A. in 1950, both from Yale University. From 1950-1951 he studied in Paris. He then became an instructor in the history department at Swarthmore College until 1953, when he married Elizabeth Salmon. In 1955 he became an instructor at Mount Holyoke College. He received his Ph.D. from Yale in 1956, and became a full professor in 1968. He published numerous books and articles and was a well-known lecturer. He died on May 6, 1979.