William Adams
William Adams may refer to:
Military
- William Adams (Royal Navy officer, died 1748), British naval officer
- William Adams (Royal Navy officer, born 1716), British naval officer
- William E. Adams, US Army officer and Medal of Honor recipient
- William Wirt Adams, Confederate States of America army general
Musicians
- Billy Adams, banjo player, a former member of Dexys Midnight Runners
- will.i.am, musician, producer; member of The Black Eyed Peas
- Willy Northpole, rapper signed to Ludacris' DTP Records
- Billy Adams (rockabilly musician), American rockabilly musician
Politicians
- Acton Adams, New Zealand politician
- Billy Adams (politician), Governor of Colorado
- William Adams (British Columbia politician), rancher and politician in British Columbia, Canada
- William Adams (1752–1811), MP for Totnes
- William Adams (New Zealand politician), New Zealand politician
- William E. Adams (New York politician), New York politician
- William G. Adams, Canadian politician
- William Henry Adams, British Conservative MP for Boston and Chief Justice of Hong Kong
- William Taylor Adams, author & politician
- William Thomas Adams, British Member of Parliament for Hammersmith South, 1945–1949
- Willie Adams (politician), Canadian politician
- William Weston Adams, American politician, planter and medical doctor
- William H. Adams (Virginia politician), American politician in the Virginia House of Delegates
- William Y. Adams, archaeologist
Science, technology and philosophy
- William Adams (locomotive engineer), British locomotive engineer
- William Adams (Master of Pembroke), English scholar
- William Adams (oculist), English ophthalmic surgeon
- William Bridges Adams, British inventor, author & locomotive engineer
- William Grylls Adams, professor of natural philosophy
Sportspeople
American football
- Bill Adams (offensive lineman), American football player
- Bill Adams (American football coach), American college football coach
- Billy Ray Adams, American football player
- Willie Adams (American football), American football player
Association football (soccer)
- Bill Adams (footballer, born 1902), Southampton FC right half back
- Bill Adams (footballer, born 1921), English footballer
- Billy Adams (footballer, born 1897), footballer for Barrow and West Bromwich Albion
- Billy Adams (footballer, born 1919), English footballer
- William Adams (footballer), footballer who played for Walsall and West Bromwich Albion
Other sports
- Bill Adams (ice hockey), Canadian ice hockey player
- Bill Adams (Australian footballer), VFL player and coach
- William Adams (cricketer, born 1885), English cricketer
- William Adams (cricketer, born 1905), English cricketer
- Willie Adams (1910s pitcher), American baseball player
- Willie Adams (1990s pitcher), American baseball player
- Willie Adams (basketball), American basketball player
- Smiley Adams, racehorse trainer
Writers
- William Adams (author), English religious writer
- William Davenport Adams, English writer and journalist, son of W. H. D. Adams
- William Henry Davenport Adams, English writer and journalist
- William Y. Adams, American author of Nubia: Corridor to Africa
- W. E. Adams, English radical and journalist
- William Lee Adams, journalist and founder of Wiwibloggs
Clergy
- William Adams (Dedham), minister of the First Church and Parish in Dedham
- William Adams (educator), co-founder of Nashotah House
- William Adams (minister), American religious leader and college president
- William Forbes Adams, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Easton
Other uses
- William Adams (samurai), English maritime navigator, shipbuilder and advisor to the Japanese government
- William Adams (haberdasher), London haberdasher and founder of Adams' Grammar School
- William Adams (lawyer), English lawyer, helped negotiate settlements with the US c.1814/1815
- William Adams (potter), North Staffordshire potter, founded the Greengates Pottery
- William Bridges-Adams, British stage director
- William Drea Adams, president of Bucknell University, 1995–2000; president of Colby College, 2000–2014
- William Adams (mining engineer)
- William Jackson Adams, justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
- William L. Adams (pioneer), American writer, newspaper editor and doctor from Oregon
- William L. Adams (businessman), Baltimore businessman and venture capitalist
- William S. Adams, American cinematographer
- William Adams (lifesaver), English lifesaver from Gorleston
- William George Stewart Adams, British political scientist and public servant
- William M. Adams, British geographer