Kammala jumla mai zuwa: An haifi John Harald Westergaard a ranar 13 ga Oktoba 1927 a Putney, London, ga Otto da Inger Westergaard; iyayensa 'yan Denmark ne kuma mahaifinsa injiniyan injiniya ne. A shekara ta 1938, tare da iyayensa suna gab da saki, Westergaard ya koma Denmark tare da mahaifiyarsa kuma aka tura shi zuwa makarantar kwana a Copenhagen; abubuwan da ya samu a karkashin
Zamanin Nazi da kuma mahaifiyarsa da ke da alaƙa da ƙungiyar juriya ta Danish a lokacin Yaƙin Duniya na Biyu sun ƙarfafa adawa da iko da imani da gurguzu. Ya kasance dan dan lokaci a cikin Rundunar Sojan Birtaniya na Rhine sannan ya kammala digiri na ilimin zamantakewa a Makarantar Tattalin Arziki ta London (LSE), ya kammala karatu a 1951. Ya kasance mai bincike ga Ruth Glass a Jami'ar Kwalejin London, kafin ya koma Jami'ar Nottingham don shekara ta 1955 <unk> 56. Daga nan sai ya koma LSE a matsayin mai koyarwa, kuma ya sami ci gaba ga masu karatu a cikin ilimin zamantakewa a shekarar 1970. A cikin 1975, an nada shi a matsayin magajin Keith Kelsall zuwa Shugaban Nazarin Ilimin Zamani a Jami'ar Sheffield. Ya yi ritaya a shekarar 1986 a yayin da aka rage kudade da kuma raguwar yawan dalibai wanda ya haifar da karatun digiri na zamantakewar al'umma a Sheffield. An yi ritaya da wuri <unk> da na Eric Sainsbury (Chair a Social Administration) <unk> don tabbatar da cewa ƙananan ma'aikata ba su rasa ayyukansu ba. A halin yanzu, ya kuma kasance Mataimakin Dekan kuma Dekan na Kwalejin Kimiyyar Zamantakewa a Sheffield tsakanin 1982 da 1986. A cikin ritaya, ya kasance yana da alaƙa da jami'ar a matsayin farfesa mai daraja; ya kuma yi aiki a matsayin baƙo kuma ya yi aiki a matsayin shugaban kungiyar British Sociological Association daga 1991 zuwa 1993. Ya kuma kasance Academician na Kwalejin Kimiyyar Zamantakewa.