William Berlinghoff was educated at the College of the Holy Cross, Boston College, and Wesleyan University, where he received his PhD in Mathematics. He began his teaching career at the College of St Rose in Albany, New York, was Professor of Mathematics at Southern Connecticut State University, and was Visiting Professor of Mathematics at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. He regularly taught a mathematics course for liberal arts students that drew heavily on the historical development of the subject. He is the author or a co-author of several college texts for liberal arts mathematics, including A Mathematics Sampler (5th edition, 2001). He was also a Senior Writer for MATH Connections, a Standards-based secondary school core curriculum.