Jeremy Joyner White was born in Aldershot, England, on 18 May 1938 and died in Lagos, Nigeria on 23 April 1990.
His secondary education took place at Wellington College.
He went on to study at Cambridge University where in 1959 he obtained a bachelor's degree in History and Modern Languages.
He obtained a doctorate degree in History in 1970 from Nigeria's premier university, the University of Ibadan.
His first employment in Nigeria was at the Institute of Administration, University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) Ile-Ife, as a lecturer and research fellow.
In October 1973, he moved to Lagos having being appointed a lecturer at the Department of History, University of Lagos.
Dr Jeremy White obtained the Nigerian citizenship in 1985.
At the time of his death, he was an associate professor at the University of Lagos.