List of Famous people named William

William Ufford, 2nd Earl of Suffolk was an English nobleman in the reigns of Edward III and Richard II. He was the son of Robert Ufford, who was created Earl of Suffolk by Edward III in 1337. William had three older brothers who all predeceased him, and in 1369 he succeeded his father. In the 1370s, he participated in several campaigns of the Hundred Years' War, but this period was not a successful one for England. Suffolk was closely connected to Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and his conciliatory skills were highly valued in national politics. He helped arbitrate in the conflict between Gaunt and the parliamentary Commons during the Good Parliament. In 1381, Suffolk took part in suppressing the Peasants' Revolt in East Anglia, after narrowly escaping the rebels himself. He died suddenly in 1382 while attending parliament, and since he had no surviving children, his title became extinct and his property was dispersed.

William Speirs Bruce was a British naturalist, polar scientist and oceanographer who organized and led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition to the South Orkney Islands and the Weddell Sea. Among other achievements, the expedition established the first permanent weather station in Antarctica. Bruce later founded the Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory in Edinburgh, but his plans for a transcontinental Antarctic march via the South Pole were abandoned because of lack of public and financial support.

William III was the count and margrave of Provence from 1014 to his death. He inherited the titles of his father Rotbold II but preceded his cousin William IV as count.

William Breit (1933–2011) was an American economist, mystery novelist, and professional comedian. Breit was born in New Orleans. He received his undergraduate and master's degrees from the University of Texas and his Ph.D from Michigan State University in 1961. He was an Assistant and Associate Professor of Economics at Louisiana State University (1961-1965) On the recommendation of Milton Friedman he was interviewed and hired at the University of Virginia where he was Associate Professor and Professor of Economics (1965-1983). He returned to his San Antonio as the E.M. Stevens Distinguished Professor of Economics at Trinity University in 1983 and retired as the Vernon F. Taylor Distinguished Professor Emeritus in 2002. He is considered an expert in the history of economic thought and anti-trust economics. He established the Nobel Laureate Lecture Series at Trinity University and is most notable as a mystery novelist where their murder mysteries are solved by applying basic economic principles.