William Robert Adam was born in Alexandria, Virginia on February 20, 1918. Prior to World War II, he worked as an Assistant Librarian for the Alexandria Library where he developed the Alexandriana collection of books and documents related to local history. During this period, he also contributed feature articles on performing arts and local history for the Alexandria Gazette. As the United States entered World War II in 1941, Adam was enlisted in the Army where he contributed to several post and unit newspapers. In 1943, he was assigned to the Bureau of Public Relations with the U.S. Army War Department at the Pentagon where he edited photography and prepared texts for media coverage. In 1949, his media career took him to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he continued to work on audio-visual news projects during the final phases of World War II, the Korean Conflict, aerospace research and development programs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and U.S. combat operations in Southeast Asia. Upon completing his military service, Adam would return to work for the City of Alexandria as a Restoration Curator at the Gadsby's Tavern Museum in 1972. During his tenure at Gadsby's, he solicited valuable furnishing and artifacts to bring to the museum, served as a docent, and arranged special events at the museum.