William Joyce Griffith was born December 20, 1908 in Kanopolis, Kansas. He received his bachelor's degree from Southwestern College in 1930 and his master's degree from Wichita State University in 1937, where he titled his thesis "A History of the Schools of Butler County, Kansas."

In 1942 Griffith received his doctorate in Latin American history from University of California at Berkeley. This same year he entered government service as head of the Division of Education, Office of Inter-American Affairs.

From 1944 to 1947, Dr. Griffith was a special representative of this office in Guatemala, where he helped expand education among its indigenous people and was awarded a Medal of Merit from the Guatemalan government. He then joined the faculty at Tulane University, where he served as the Chairman of Latin American studies from 1950 to 1970. Griffith married Shirley Lucas (McAfee) in 1970.

Griffith joined the faculty at the University of Kansas as the Director of the Center of Latin American Studies from 1970 to 1975, retiring from KU in 1977. During his career, Griffith served on numerous committees dedicated to Latin American studies. He was a fellow at the Social Sciences Research Council, vice chairman of the Latin American Research Board, and he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Conference of Latin American Historians, which he also served as Chairman.

Throughout his career and travels, Griffith collected publications and primary research material regarding Central America, with a particular focus on Guatemala. Shirley Lucas passed away in 2002, and William J. Griffith passed away in 2003 with Charles Stansifer, a professional colleague, as the executor of the Griffith estate.