Leading Figures in History

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

24408 persons found

William Basinski

b. 1958

American composer (born 1958)

William Bast

American screenwriter and author (1931–2015)

William Baziotes

American painter (1912–1963)

William Bedloe

b. 1650

English fraudster and Popish Plot informer

William Bernard Ziff Jr.

b. 1930

American publishing executive (1930–2006)

William Birdwood

British army officer (1865–1951)

William Blackstone

b. 1723

English jurist, judge, and politician (1723–1780)

William Bolcom

b. 1938

American composer and pianist (born 1938)

William Bowyer (artist)

b. 1926

William Boyd (actor)

b. 1895

American actor (1895–1972)

William Bradford (governor)

English Separatist leader (1590–1657)

William Bradford (printer, born 1663)

Early English-born printer in North America

William Brede Kristensen

b. 1867

Norwegian-born Dutch theologian, professor and historian of religion

William Brereton (courtier)

Courtier to Henry VIII of England

William Brown Meloney (1902–1971)

American writer (1902–1971)

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 Byrd

English Renaissance composer (c. 1540–1623)

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)