William Watson

William, Willie, Bill or Billy Watson may refer to:

Arts

• William Watson (songwriter) (1794–1840), English concert hall singer and songwriter
• William Watson (poet) (1858–1935), English poet
• William J. Watson (author) (1865-1948), Scottish toponymist
• Billy Watson (actor) (1923–2022), American actor
• William Watson (writer) (1930–2005), also known as Bill Watson, Scottish writer
• William C. Watson (1938–1997), American actor
• Willie Watson (musician) (born 1979), American folk musician

Military

• William H. Watson (1815–1846), Mexican–American War soldier from Maryland, U.S.
• William Watson (sergeant) (1826–1906), in the Confederate States Army
• William Watson (surgeon) (1837–1879), in Pennsylvania Volunteers during the American Civil War
• William Thornton Watson (1887–1961), New Zealand officer in the Australian Imperial Force
• William E. Watson, military historian

Politics

• William Watson (16th century MP), MP for the City of York
• William Henry Watson (1796–1860), British politician and judge
• William Watson (New South Wales politician) (1815–1877), Australian politician
• William John Watson (1839–1886), Australian politician
• William T. Watson (1849–1917), American banker and governor of Delaware
• William W. Watson Sr., 19th century North Carolina politician
• William Watson (Australian politician) (1864–1938), Australian politician
• William McLean Watson (1874–1962), Scottish politician
• W. Marvin Watson (1924–2017), U.S. Postmaster General
• William Watson, mayor of Rockford, Illinois, U.S., 1878–79

Science

• William Watson (scientist) (1715–1787), English physician and scientist
• William Watson (physician) (1744–1824), English physician and naturalist
• William Watson (surveyor and scientist) (1784–1857), cartographer and sundial-maker from Seaton Ross
• William Livingstone Watson (1835–1903), Scottish East India merchant and astronomer
• Watson Cheyne or Sir William Watson (1852–1932), 1st Baronet Cheyne, Scottish surgeon and bacteriologist
• William Watson (botanist) (1858–1925), British botanist and horticulturalist
• William Watson (physicist, born 1868) (1868–1919), British physicist
• William Watson (Scottish physicist) (1884–1952), FRSE Scottish physicist and mathematician
• William Weldon Watson (1899–1992), American nuclear physicist

Sports

Association football

• William Watson (footballer, born 1873) (1873–1929) , Scottish footballer (Falkirk FC and Scotland)
• Billy Watson (footballer, born 1890) (1890–1955), English international footballer with Burnley, 1908–1925
• Billy Watson (footballer, born 1893) (1893–1962), English footballer with Huddersfield Town, 1912–1927
• William Watson (footballer, fl. 1903–1909), Lincoln City footballer active in the 1900s
• Bill Watson (footballer, born 1899) (1899–1969), English footballer in the 1920s–30s
• Bill Watson (footballer, born 1916) (1916-1986), English footballer, fullback for Lincoln City, Chesterfield and Rochdale
• William Watson (footballer, born 1900) (1900–?), Scottish footballer (Dumbarton FC)
• Willie Watson (footballer, born 1910), Scottish footballer (Hibernian, Ayr United)
• Jimmy Watson (footballer, born 1914) (1914–1979), aka Bill Watson (William James Boyd Watson), English footballer in the 1930s
• Billy Watson (soccer), Scottish-American footballer in the 1920s–30s
• Billy Watson (Scottish footballer) (died 1950), Bradford City A.F.C. footballer, 1921–1931
• Willie Watson (English footballer), English footballer, full-back for Northampton Town
• Willie Watson (English cricketer) (1920–2004), English cricketer and footballer
• Willie Watson (footballer, born 1949), Scottish footballer (Manchester United, Motherwell)
• Graham Watson (footballer, born 1949), English footballer, aka "Willie" Watson

Cricket

• William Watson (cricketer, born 1881) (1881–1926), Australian cricketer
• Willie Watson (English cricketer) (1920–2004), English cricketer and footballer
• Bill Watson (cricketer) (1931–2018), Australian cricketer
• Willie Watson (New Zealand cricketer) (born 1965), New Zealand cricketer

Rugby

• Billy Watson (rugby union) (1869–1953), member of the 1893 New Zealand rugby union team
• Bill Watson (rugby union), born 1949, Scotland international rugby union player
• Billy Watson (rugby league), rugby league footballer of the 1930s for England, and Keighley

Other sports

• William Watson (motoring pioneer) (1873–1961), British racing driver and motoring pioneer
• William Watson (weightlifter) (1918–1998), British Olympic weightlifter
• Whipper Billy Watson (1915–1990), Canadian wrestler
• William Watson (decathlete) (1916–1973), aka "Big Bill" Watson, American track and field athlete
• William Watson (basketball) (fl. 1920s), African-American basketball player
• Bill Watson (baseball), American baseball player
• Bill Watson (ice hockey) (born 1964), ice hockey player in Minnesota
• Willie Watson (bowls), Irish international lawn bowler
• William Poss Watson (1868–1950), Australian rules footballer

Other people

• William Watson (bow maker) (1930–?), British bow maker
• William Watson (chess player) (born 1962), English chess grandmaster
• William Watson (economist), Canadian economist, member of the research advisory board for Macdonald–Laurier Institute
• William Watson (merchant) (died 20 November 1559), English merchant and shipowner
• William Watson (priest) (1559–1603), English Roman Catholic priest and conspirator
• William Watson (sinologist) (1917–2007), professor of Chinese art and archaeology at London University
• William Watson, Baron Watson (1827–1899), Scottish judge
• William Watson, Baron Thankerton (1873–1948), Scottish judge
• William J. Watson (1865–1948), Scottish teacher and scholar of place names
• William R. Watson (1887–1973), Canadian art dealer