Leading Figures in History

Discover the people who shaped our world — from rulers and scientists to artists and activists.

58072 persons found

William Murdoch

b. 1754

Scottish engineer and inventor (1754–1839)

William Murray McPherson

b. 1865

Australian politician (1865–1932)

William Nordhaus

b. 1941

American economist and Nobel Laureate (born 1941)

William Noy

English politician and jurist (1577–1634)

William Nylander

b. 1996

Swedish ice hockey player (born 1996)

William O. Douglas

b. 1898

American jurist (1898–1980)

William O'Connor (fencer)

b. 1864

American fencer (1864–1939)

William of Hirsau

Benedictine abbot and reformer (c.1030–1091)

William of Kilkenny

Bishop of Ely and Chancellor of England (died 1256)

William of the White Hands

French cardinal (1135–1202)

William of Tyre

12th-century clergyman, writer, and Archbishop of Tyre

William of Villehardouin

Prince of Achaea from 1246 to 1278

William of Wykeham

14th-century Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England

William of York

Archbishop of York (1141–1147, 1153–1154)

William Oldys

b. 1696

English antiquarian and bibliographer (1696–1761)

William Orpen

Irish artist (1878–1931)

William Osler

b. 1849

Canadian physician and co-founder of Johns Hopkins Hospital (1849–1919)

William Oughtred

English mathematician (1574–1660)

William Owusu (footballer, born 1989)

b. 1989

Ghanaian footballer

William P. Clark Jr.

American judge and public servant (1931–2013)

William P. Fessenden

b. 1806

American politician (1806–1869)

William P. Foster

b. 1919

American bandmaster, composer, and author (1919–2010)

William P. Frye

American politician from Maine (1830–1911)

William P. Murphy

American recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine