Founding director of the Knoxville History Project in 2014, Jack Neely is a longtime journalist and historian who has been writing about his hometown’s character and heritage for many years. After graduating from the University of Tennessee, where he studied American history, Neely was an Egyptian museum tour guide at the 1982 World’s Fair. Later, he was a criminal-defense investigator, and an assistant editor for a national fiction magazine.
Through his Metro Pulse column, “Secret History” (1992-2014) and his subsequent Knoxville Mercury column, “The Scruffy Citizen,” he’s been known for his particular interest in the city’s unique culture and heritage. He has written several books about Knoxville and its history, including Historic Knoxville: The Curious Visitor’s Guide (2018) and Historic Bearden (2019), and others published by the Knoxville History Project; as well as several published by other entities, including The Old City: A Short History (2018); The Tennessee Theatre: A Grand Entertainment Palace (2015); Market Square: A History of the Most Democratic Place on Earth (2nd ed., 2011) and Knoxville, Tennessee: This Obscure Prismatic City (2009).
He has earned numerous awards, including an honorary doctorate from Maryville College; the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the University of Tennessee’s History Department; Awards of Distinction from the East Tennessee Historical Society; and a place in the University of Tennessee Educators Hall of Honor.