Leading Figures in History

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

21506 persons found

William Buell Richards

b. 1815

Chief Justice of Canada from 1875 to 1879

William Buell Sprague

William Burges

English Gothic revival architect and designer (1827–1881)

William Byron, 5th Baron Byron

British politician

William C. Campbell (golfer)

b. 1923

American amateur golfer (1923–2013)

William C. Campbell (scientist)

b. 1930

Irish-American microbiologist and Nobel laureate in medicine (born 1930)

William C. Lee

US Army general

William Calley

b. 1943

US Army officer convicted for massacre at My Lai, Vietnam (1943–2024)

William Camden

b. 1551

English antiquarian (1551–1623)

William Carey (missionary)

English Baptist missionary and a Particular Baptist minister (1761–1834)

William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk

b. 1758

Royal Navy officer (1756–1831)

William Carr (rower)

b. 1876

American rower (1876–1942)

William Castle

b. 1914

American filmmaker (1914–1977)

William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire

b. 1720

Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1756 to 1757

William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire

b. 1790

English peer, courtier and politician (1790–1858)

William Chester Minor

b. 1834

American surgeon, dictionary contributor, and psychiatric patient

William Clingan

American Founding Father and politician

William Cobbett

English pamphleteer, farmer and journalist (1763–1835)

William Colby

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1973 to 1976

William Conway (cardinal)

Irish cardinal

William Coventry

17th-century English statesman

William Cowper

English poet and hymnodist (1731–1800)

William Crookes

b. 1832

English chemist and physicist (1832–1919)

William D. Byron

b. 1895

American politician