William Henry (Harry) Pope was born in 1923. His mother was a Belgian countess with lineage back to Napoleon's general Jean-Baptiste Dumonceau, and his father was a lieutenant general in the Canadian army and a descendant of William Henry Pope (after whom he was named), one of the Fathers of Confederation. William joined the Royal Military College in 1940 and served with distinction during the Second World War; during this time he was captured but managed to escape and spent 2 months fighting amongst Italian partisans. He would also serve in the Korean War, where he was awarded the Military Cross and promoted to Major. After voicing disagreement with NATO's defensive strategy of limited nuclear war he resigned from the Canadian military in 1959.
While studying at the University of Ottawa and later at the University of Toronto, William got involved in politics and was a vocal supporter of the socialist CCF and later ran for office several times as an NDP candidate. In 1967 he began his teaching career at Ryerson University as a professor of economics. For the next two decades, he taught courses in Canadian economic problems, economic development, and economic principles, while publishing widely. He was also a founding member of the Committee on Monetary and Economic Reform (COMER). William retired from teaching in 1987, however he would continue to publish books and his memoirs. He died of cancer-related complications, on December 23rd, 2000. To honour this distinguished faculty member's achievements, Ryerson University created the William Henry Pope International Economics Award.