List of Famous people named William

William Arthur Pailes is a former USAF astronaut in the Manned Spaceflight Engineer Program during the mid-1980s. He served as a Payload Specialist on STS-51-J Atlantis.

William Henry Hoare (1809–1888) was an English cleric and author.

William Washington Beaudine was an American film director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres.

Sir William Fox was the second Premier of New Zealand and held that office on four separate occasions in the 19th century, while New Zealand was still a colony. He was known for his confiscation of Māori land rights, his contributions to the education system, and his work to increase New Zealand's autonomy from Britain. He has been described as determined and intelligent, but also as bitter and "too fond" of personal attacks. Different aspects of his personality are emphasised by different accounts, changing mainly due to the reviewers' political beliefs.