John Freely (1926-2017) was born in New York in 1926 and joined the US Navy at the age of 17, serving during the last two years of World War II. He achieved a PhD in physics from New York University and did postdoctoral studies in the history of science at Oxford. He was Professor of Physics at Bosphorus University in Istanbul, where he taught physics and the history of science for more than fifty years. He also taught in New York, Boston, London and Athens.

Freely wrote more than 40 books, including works in the history of science and travel. His books include Storm on Horseback, The Cyclades, The Ionian Islands (all I.B.Tauris), Crete and the bestselling Strolling Through Istanbul (both Tauris Parke).