William Bates
William Bates may refer to:
- William Bates, Australian Aboriginal man who is said to have originated the phrase "Always was, always will be " in the 1980s
- William Bates , English Presbyterian minister
- William Bates , founder of Newton Colony, the third English settlement in West New Jersey
- William Bates , professor of classics in Queen's College, Birmingham; editor of Maclise's Gallery.
- William Bates , Australian politician in colonial Victoria
- William Bates , English cricketer
- William Bates , American physician
- William Gelston Bates, Massachusetts state legislator
- William H. Bates, American politician
- Houston Bates, American football linebacker
- Bill Bates, American football player
- William Penn Bates, American football player and coach
- William Bates, fictional character on ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''