List of Famous people named William

William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, was a British mathematical physicist and engineer born in Belfast. Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow for 53 years, he did important work in the mathematical analysis of electricity and formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and did much to unify the emerging discipline of physics in its modern form. He received the Royal Society's Copley Medal in 1883, was its President 1890–1895, and in 1892 was the first British scientist to be elevated to the House of Lords.

William of Norwich was an English boy whose death was, at the time, attributed to the Jewish community of Norwich. It is the first known medieval accusation against Jews of ritual murder.

William Enrique Palacios González is a Colombian footballer who last played as midfielder for Guatemalan club Deportivo Achuapa.

William II de Croÿ, Lord of Chièvres was the chief tutor and First Chamberlain to Charles V.

William James Beal was an American botanist. He was a pioneer in the development of hybrid corn and the founder of the W. J. Beal Botanical Garden.

William Penn was the son of the admiral and politician Sir William Penn. Penn was a writer, early member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the English North American colony the Province of Pennsylvania. He was an early advocate of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful treaties with the Lenape Native Americans. Under his direction, the city of Philadelphia was planned and developed. Philadelphia was planned out to be grid-like with its streets and be very easy to navigate, unlike London where Penn was from. The streets are named with numbers and tree names. He chose to use the names of trees for the cross streets because Pennsylvania means "Penn's Woods".

William Thomas Green Morton was an American dentist and physician who first publicly demonstrated the use of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic in 1846. The promotion of his questionable claim to have been the discoverer of anesthesia became an obsession for the rest of his life.

William Salice was an Italian businessman. He was employed at Ferrero SpA, where he was credited as the inventor of Kinder Eggs.

William Ramsay Maule, 1st Baron Panmure of Brechin and Navar was a Scottish landowner and politician.

William Gibson Arlington Bonwill was an American dentist and researcher. The Bonwill Triangle is named after him.