William Jay (12 August 1940 – 10 May 2009) was a photographer, writer on and advocate of photography, curator, magazine and picture editor, lecturer, public speaker and mentor.

[4][5] His own photographs have been widely published, including a solo exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

[3][4][1] He was the first Director of Photography at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London,[3][1] in 1970 and founded and directed the Photo Study Centre there.

[3][6][1] He gave hundreds of lectures on photography as a guest at colleges, universities, art schools and camera clubs in Britain, Europe and the United States.

[1] He retired in the late 1990s, leaving Mesa, Arizona, for Ocean Beach near San Diego, then to Sámara on the Nicoya peninsula, Costa Rica, in 2008.