William Wilson
William Wilson, or variants, may mean:
Politicians
American
- Bill Wilson (activist) (born 1953), Washington activisjt
- Bill Wilson (Montana politician) (born 1961), Montana State Representative
- W. Eugene Wilson (William Eugene Wilson, 1929–2015), member of the North Carolina General Assembly
- Will Wilson (Texas politician) (1912–2005), American politician, attorney, and judge in Texas
- William A. Wilson (diplomat) (1914–2009), first U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See
- William Bauchop Wilson (1862–1934), U.S. (Scottish-born) labor leader and political figure
- William C. Wilson (New York politician), New York comptroller in 1906
- William E. Wilson (Indiana politician) (1870–1948), U.S. Representative from Indiana
- William H. Wilson (New York politician) (c. 1873–1901), New York assemblyman
- William H. Wilson (1877–1937), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania, 1935–1937
- William K. Wilson, Wisconsin State Senator
- William Lyne Wilson (1843–1900), United States Postmaster General
- William Sydney Wilson (1816–1862), prominent Confederate politician
- William T. Wilson (born 1937), member of the Virginia House of Delegates
- William Warfield Wilson (1868–1942), U.S. Representative from Illinois
- William Wilson (Ohio politician) (1773–1827), U.S. Representative from Ohio
- William Wilson (Pennsylvania politician), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania, 1815–1819
- William Wilson (Wisconsin politician), Wisconsin State Senator
- Bill Wilson (Mayor, Santa Clara), founder, Bill Wilson Center for homeless youth, California
British
- William Wilson (died 1582), MP for Southwark
- William Wilson (1720–1796), British Member of Parliament for Ilchester, 1761–1768
- William Wilson (Donegal MP) (1836–1876), MP for Donegal 1876–1879
- William Wilson (Westhoughton MP) (1855–1921), British trade unionist and Member of Parliament for Westhoughton
- William Wilson (Coventry MP) (1913–2010), British Labour Member of Parliament, 1964–1983
- Bill Wilson (Scottish politician) (William L. Wilson, born 1963), Scottish nationalist
Canadian
- William Wilson (British Columbia politician) (1838–1922), merchant and politician in British Columbia
- William Wilson (New Brunswick politician) (1845–1921), Canadian politician in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
- William Wilson (Upper Canada politician) (1789–1847), politician in Upper Canada
- William Wallace Wilson (1876–1967), Alberta politician
- William Wilber Wilfred Wilson (1885–1964), Canadian politician
Australasian
- William Wilson (Queensland politician) (1832–1903), member of the Queensland Legislative Council
- William Wilson (Victorian politician) (1834–1891), member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly and Council
- William Wilson (mayor) (1819–1897), first mayor of Christchurch, New Zealand, 1868
Sports
- Bill Wilson (catcher) (1867–1924), MLB catcher
- Willy Wilson (baseball) (1884–1925), baseball player
- Mutt Wilson (William Clarence Wilson, 1896–1962), MLB pitcher
- Bill Wilson (outfielder) (born 1928), MLB outfielder
- Bill Wilson (pitcher) (1942–1993), Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher
- Willie Wilson (baseball) (born 1955), American baseball outfielder
- Mookie Wilson (William Hayward Wilson, born 1956), MLB outfielder
- William Wilson (Australian sportsman) (1909–1976), Australian cricketer and Australian rules footballer for Essendon
- William Wilson (cricketer, born 1912) (born c. 1912), Australian cricketer
- William Wilson (South African cricketer) (1925-2005), South African cricketer
- William Wilson (field hockey) (1917–1984), American Olympic hockey player
- Billy Wilson (cricketer) (1868–1920), Australian cricketer
- Billy Wilson (Australian rules footballer) (1891–1957), Australian footballer for Fitzroy
- Bill Wilson (footballer) (1924–1969), Australian rules footballer for Richmond and Glenelg
- Billy Wilson (Australian rugby league) (1927–1993), Australian rugby league footballer
- Billy Wilson (New Zealand rugby league), rugby league footballer of the 1910s, and 1920s for New Zealand, Wellington and Athletic
- Billy Wilson (wide receiver) (1927–2009), NFL wide receiver
- Billy Wilson (running back), college football player
- William Wilson (aquatics) (1844–1912), Scottish writer on swimming, and the inventor of water polo
- William George Wilson (1917–2007), sports cinematographer
- William Wilson (swimmer) (born 1964), Filipino swimmer
- Willy Wilson (born 1980), Filipino basketball player
- Will Wilson (rugby union) (born 1997), English rugby union and rugby sevens player
Association football
- William Wilson (defender), English footballer for Newcastle United and Bradford City
- William Wilson (footballer, born 1902) (1902–?), English footballer
- William Wilson (footballer, born 1915) (1915–?), English footballer
- William Wilson (footballer, born November 1915) (1915–?), English footballer
- William Wilson (footballer, born 1921), Scottish football goalkeeper for Queen of the South and Third Lanark
- Billy Wilson (footballer, born 1896) (1896–1996), English footballer
- Billy Wilson (footballer, born 1936), Northern Irish football player for Burnley
- Billy Wilson (footballer, born 1946) (1946–2018), English footballer
- Billy Wilson (American soccer) (fl. 1920s–30s), American soccer player
- Billy Wilson (Scottish footballer), played for Airdrieonians FC and managed Albion Rovers F.C.
- Willie Wilson (footballer, born 1894) (1894–1956), Scottish footballer, played for Hearts and Cowdenbeath
- Willie Wilson (footballer, born 1941) (1941–2001), Scottish footballer
- Willie Wilson (footballer, born 1972), Scottish footballer
Arts and entertainment
- William Wilson (architect) (1641–1710), English architect, builder and sculptor
- William Hardy Wilson (1881–1955), Australian architect, artist and author
- William Wilson (poet) (1801–1860), Scottish-American poet, bookseller and publisher
- William E. Wilson (writer) (1906–1988), American author and professor
- William Scott Wilson (born 1944), author and translator of samurai literature
- William Wilson (artist) (1905–1972), Scottish stained glass artist, printmaker and watercolour painter
- Will Wilson (artist) (born 1957), American artist known for portrait paintings, illustrations and trompe-l'œil works
- Will Wilson (photographer) (born 1969), Native American photographer
- William Wilson (vocalist), lead singer of Legion Within, a gothic industrial rock band founded in 2000
- William Llewellyn Wilson, conductor, musician, teacher and music educator from Baltimore
- Willie Wilson (drummer) (born 1947), member of Quiver; worked with Pink Floyd, Al Stewart
Business
- William Proctor Wilson (1921–2010), president of Buttrick Publishing Company
- Willie Wilson (businessman) (born 1948), Chicago businessman, musician, philanthropist, and political candidate
- William Willson (businessman) (died 2015), chairman of Aston Martin, 1972–1975
- William Wilson, businessman, founder of Price's Candles
- Bill Wilson, founder of US firearms manufacturer Wilson Combat
Law and crime
- Billy Wilson (outlaw) (1862–1918), American outlaw who rode with Billy the Kid
- Bill Wilson (convict) (born 1880), convicted of murdering two individuals who were later found alive
- Billy Roy Wilson (William Roy Wilson Jr., born 1939), United States federal judge
- William Wilson (Illinois jurist) (1794–1857), Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court
- Bill Wilson (judge), New Zealand judge of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal
- William C. Wilson (judge) (1812–1882), Vermont lawyer and judge
- William Adam Wilson FRSE (1928–1994) Professor of Scots Law at Edinburgh University
Military
- Sir William Deane Wilson (1843–1921), British army surgeon-general
- William Wilson (Medal of Honor) (1847–1895), one of nineteen people to receive the Medal of Honor twice
- William Othello Wilson (1867–1928), member of the US Army's 9th Cavalry, and recipient of the Medal of Honor
- William Tecumseh Wilson (1823–1905), American Union brevet brigadier general from Ohio
- William Wilson (Zouave) (1823–1874), American Union brevet brigadier general from New York
Religion
- William Wilson (priest) (1545–1615), Canon of Windsor
- William Carus Wilson (1791–1859), English churchman and founder and editor of The Children's Friend
- William Wilson (bishop) (1806–1888), Anglican bishop in Scotland
- William Hay Wilson (1864–1935), Anglican priest
- William C. Wilson (minister) (1866–1915), General Superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene
- Bill Wilson (pastor) (born 1948), president and founder of Metro Ministries International
- Billy Wilson (academic) (born 1958), theologian affiliated with Oral Roberts University
- William Wilson (Dean of Cloyne), Dean of Cloyne, 1908–1934
Science
- William Wilson (botanist) (1799–1871), English botanist
- William James Erasmus Wilson (1809–1884), physician and surgeon
- William Edward Wilson (astronomer) (1851–1908), Irish astronomer
- William Parkinson Wilson (1826–1874), English astronomer and professor of mathematics
- William Wilson (English academic) (1875–1965), English physicist
- William Wilson (physicist) (1887–1948), English-born physicist
- William C. Wilson (physician), Chief Medical Officer at UCI Health
- William Hawkins Wilson (1866–1956), British physiologist
Others
- William "Amos" Wilson (1762–1821), folklore figure of southern Pennsylvania, referred to as "The Pennsylvania Hermit"
- William A. Wilson (folklorist) (1933–2016), studied and taught Mormon folklore
- Bill W. (William Griffith Wilson, 1895–1971), co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous
- Edward Adrian Wilson (1872–1912), known as Uncle Bill, Antarctic explorer
- William Wilson (engineer) (1809–1862), first locomotive driver in Germany, railway pioneer
- William E. Wilson, British railway civil engineer, first employer of John Harry Grainger
- William Julius Wilson (born 1935), sociologist
- William L. Wilson (Rice University), professor at Rice University
- William E. Wilson (writer) (1906–1988), author and college professor, son of the Indiana politician
In fiction
- "William Wilson" (short story), an 1839 short story by Edgar Allan Poe
- Wilson the Wonder Athlete (William Wilson), a character in British story and comic papers published by D.C. Thomson
- Billy Wilson, a character in Angels with Broken Wings
- Agent Bill Wilson, also known as CIA, a character in The Dark Knight Rises