William John Richardson SJ (November 2, 1920 – December 10, 2016) was an American philosopher who was among the first to write a comprehensive study of the philosophy of Martin Heidegger, featuring an important preface by Heidegger himself.
In 1941, Richardson graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and entered the Jesuit order on August 14, 1941, in Poughkeepsie, New York.
[2] He further studied at Woodstock College and the Catholic University of Louvain.
[3] In addition to his specialization in Heidegger, Richardson was also, as a trained psychoanalyst, a specialist in the thought of Jacques Lacan.
He taught philosophy at St. Peter's College, Fordham University, and, beginning in 1981, at Boston College, where he was, at the time of his death, emeritus professor of philosophy.