W. F. Ryan

William Francis (W.F.) Ryan (born 1937) is a British librarian and scholar of Russian language and culture, who has been described as "one of the world's foremost experts" on Russian magic and witchcraft.
He is Emeritus Professor and Honorary Fellow, School of Advance Study, The Warburg Institute, University of London.
Career.
Between 1967 and 1976, Ryan was a lecturer in Russian Language and Literature at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London. In 1976 he was appointed Academic Librarian at the Warburg Institute, University of London, a position he held until 2002.
In 1999, Ryan published "The Bathhouse at Midnight: An Historical Survey of Magic and Divination in Russia" (1999), which was described by one reviewer as "the most thorough and detailed study to date on the magic and divination of Russian and Eastern Slav peoples".
Recognition.
Ryan was elected as Fellow of the British Academy in 2000. In 2005 Ryan delivered the British Library's Panizzi Lectures, on ‘The Magic of Russia’, which were published in 2006. Between 2005 and 2008 Ryan served as President of the Folklore Society.