William Brown

Academics

• William Brown (physician), American physician
• William Brown (veterinarian), English veterinarian and activist
• William Brown (plant pathologist), British mycologist and plant pathologist
• William Brown (psychologist), British psychologist
• William Fuller Brown Jr., American physicist
• W. G. Brown, Canadian mathematician
• William Harvey Brown, American naturalist
• William Jethro Brown, Australian jurist and professor of law
• William L. Brown (geneticist), American geneticist
• W. Norman Brown, American Indologist and Sanskritist
• William Brown (industrial relations expert), British academic, Master of Darwin College, Cambridge
• William Yancey Brown, American zoologist and attorney

Arts and Entertainment

• William Brown (composer), American composer and flutist
• William Alexander Brown, African-American playwright and theatrical producer
• William Mason Brown, American artist
• William Kellock Brown, Scottish sculptor
• William J. Brown (architect), American architect
• Willie Brown (musician), American delta blues guitarist and singer
• William Theophilus Brown, American artist
• William Brown (tenor), American opera singer
• Billy Brown (Irish musician), Irish musician and artist, and member of The Freshmen
• Billy Brown (singer), member of American rhythm and blues band Ray, Goodman & Brown
• W. Earl Brown, American character actor
• Guillermo E. Brown, American drummer and multi-disciplinary performer
• William Brown, better known as Compa, British electronic musician
• Bill Brown (filmmaker), American filmmaker and author

Sportspeople

American football

• Bill Brown (American football quarterback), professional player for the Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)
• Bill Brown (linebacker), American football player in 1960 Boston Patriots season
• Bill Brown (American football), American football running back
• Willie Brown (American football), American football Hall-of-Fame cornerback
• Willie Brown (American football, born 1942), Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach
• Billy Brown (American football), American football tight end

Association football

• William Brown (goalkeeper), English footballer
• William Brown (footballer, born 1865), English footballer
• William Brown (footballer, born 1874), English footballer and cricketer
• William Brown (footballer, born 1876), Scottish footballer
• William Brown (footballer, born 1885), Scottish footballer
• William Brown (footballer, born July 1885), Scottish footballer
• William Brown (footballer, born 1889), Scottish footballer
• William Brown (footballer, born 1897), Scottish footballer
• Willie Brown (footballer, born 1900), Scottish footballer
• Billy Brown (footballer, born 1900), English professional footballer
• Bill Brown (footballer, born 1902), Scottish footballer
• William Brown (footballer, born 1907), English footballer and sprinter
• Billy Brown (footballer, born 1910), footballer who played in the Football League
• William Brown (footballer, born 1912), Scottish footballer
• Willie Brown (footballer, born 1922), Scottish football player and manager
• Willie Brown (footballer, born 1928), Scottish footballer
• William Brown (footballer, born 1928), English footballer
• Bill Brown (footballer, born 1928), English football player
• Bill Brown (footballer, born 1931), Scottish international football goalkeeper
• Willie Brown (footballer, born 1938), Scottish footballer
• Bill Brown (footballer, born 1943), English football player
• Willie Brown (footballer, born 1950), Scottish footballer
• Billy Brown (footballer, born 1950), Scottish football player and coach

Athletics

• Bill Brown (racewalker), British Olympic racewalker
• Billy Brown (athlete), American track and field triple jumper, long jumper, and sprinter
• Bill Brown (runner), American middle distance and relay runner

Australian rules football

• Bill Brown (footballer, born 1882), Australian rules footballer for Geelong
• Bill Brown (footballer, born 1906), Australian rules footballer for Hawthorn
• Bill Brown (footballer, born 1914), Australian rules footballer for Carlton and Collingwood
• Billy Brown (Australian footballer), former Australian rules footballer who played in the VFL

Baseball

• William Brown (baseball), American Major League catcher
• Bill Brown (outfielder), American baseball player
• Bill Brown (sportscaster), American baseball broadcaster and member of the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame
• Bill Brown (baseball coach), American college baseball coach

Basketball

• Bill Brown (basketball, born 1922), American professional basketball player
• Rookie Brown, American professional basketball player
• Bill Brown (basketball, born 1951), American basketball coach at California University of Pennsylvania
• Will Brown (basketball), American basketball coach

Cricket

• William Brown (MCC cricketer), English first-class cricketer
• William Brown (Tasmanian cricketer), English-born Tasmanian first-class cricketer
• William Brown (cricketer, born 1866), English cricketer
• William Brown (cricketer, born 1876), English first-class cricketer
• William Brown (cricketer, born 1888), English cricketer
• William Brown (cricketer, born 1889), English cricketer
• William Brown (cricketer, born 1900), English cricketer
• Bill Brown (cricketer), Australian cricketer
• William Brown (New Zealand cricketer), New Zealand cricketer

Golf

• William Brown (golfer), Scottish golfer
• Willie Brown (golfer), 19th century Scottish golfer
• Billy Ray Brown, former American golfer

Rugby

• William Davie Brown, Scottish rugby union player
• William Sorley Brown, Scottish rugby union player
• William Brown (rugby league), Australian rugby league player
• Willie Brown (rugby league), former Sydney Roosters rugby league player

Other sports

• William Brown (tennis), American tennis player
• Will Brown (racing driver), Australian racing driver
• Bill Brown (NASCAR driver), retired NASCAR Cup Series driver who crashed with Larry Flynn

Clergymen and theologians

• William Brown (priest), Archdeacon of Northampton
• William Laurence Brown, Scottish divine
• William Brown (clergyman), Scottish clergyman and Hebraist
• William Haig Brown, English cleric and headmaster of Charterhouse School
• William Montgomery Brown, American Episcopalian bishop and Communist author
• William Cabell Brown, American Episcopal missionary and bishop of Virginia
• William Francis Brown, bishop, see Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark
• William Adams Brown, American minister, professor and philanthropist
• William A. Brown (bishop), American who served as the fourth Bishop of Southern Virginia
• William P. Brown, American Presbyterian minister, author and biblical theologian

Engineers

• William H. Brown (shipbuilder), American shipbuilder
• William Liston Brown, American industrialist
• William C. Brown, American electrical engineer
• William F. Brown (engineer), American welding engineer
• William Brown (bridge designer), English structural engineer, bridge designer
• William Brown (mining engineer), English mining engineer, waggonway designer and steam engine builder

Military people

• William Brown (British Army officer), commander of the Gilgit Scouts during the Partition of India
• William Brown (soldier), American Revolutionary War soldier
• William Brown (Royal Navy officer), British Royal Navy admiral
• William Brown (admiral), or Guillermo Brown, Irish-Argentine Navy admiral
• William Brown (sailor), Black woman who briefly served in the Royal Navy in 1815, disguised as a man
• William A. Brown (admiral), vice admiral in the United States Navy
• William H. Brown (Medal of Honor), American Civil War sailor and Medal of Honor recipient
• William Henry Brown (aviator), Canadian World War I flying ace
• William Maurice Brown, New Zealand Lt. Colonel; first principal of Faujdarhat Cadet College
• William Gustavus Brown, commander of British troops in China and Hong Kong
• William Perry Brown Jr., American Marine and recipient of two Navy Crosses

Politicians and diplomats

Australia

• William Brown (New South Wales politician), member of the New South Wales Parliament
• William Brown (Tasmanian politician), Australian politician
• William Villiers Brown, Queensland politician
• Bill Brown (Australian politician), Australian senator

United Kingdom

• William Brown (MP for Gloucester), in 1341, MP for Gloucester
• William Brown (MP for Bedford), in 1397, MP for Bedford
• Sir William Brown, 1st Baronet, of Richmond Hill, British merchant and banker, MP for South Lancashire 1846–1859
• Sir William Slater Brown (Lord Provost), Scottish businessman and Lord Provost of Edinburgh
• W. J. Brown (trade unionist), MP for Rugby 1942–1950
• William Robson Brown, UK Conservative politician, MP for Esher 1950–1970
• Oliver Brown (Scottish activist), Scottish nationalist activist
• William Brown (Northern Ireland politician), Northern Irish unionist politician, MPA for South Down 1982–1986

United States

• William Browne (judge), Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature
• William Brown (congressman), U.S. Representative from Kentucky, 1819–1821
• William Little Brown, justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court
• William W. Brown (Wisconsin politician), American politician
• William G. Brown Sr., U.S. Representative from Virginia and West Virginia
• William J. Brown (Indiana politician), U.S. Representative from Indiana
• William Matt Brown, mayor of Nashville, Tennessee, 1865–1867
• William Brown (Illinois politician), member of the Illinois House of Representatives
• William Brown (Louisiana politician), Louisiana State Superintendent of Education, 1872–1876
• William Wallace Brown, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania
• William L. Brown (politician), Ohio and New York politician
• William Ripley Brown, U.S. Representative from Kansas
• William M. Brown (Pennsylvania politician), U.S. Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, electee to the U.S. House of Representatives
• William G. Brown Jr., U.S. Representative from West Virginia, son of William G. Brown
• William Brown, mayor of Rockford, 1857–1858, see List of mayors of Rockford, Illinois
• William Anderson Brown, lawyer, member of the Minnesota legislature
• William E. Brown Jr., mayor of Ann Arbor, 1945–1957
• W. K. Brown, member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Grant Parish, 1960–72
• William Holmes Brown, Parliamentarian of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1974–1994
• William Andreas Brown, U.S. Ambassador to Israel, 1988–1992
• William Denis Brown III, Louisiana state senator from 1968 to 1976
• William Denis Brown III, known as Billy, Louisiana politician
• Willie Brown (politician), mayor of San Francisco, 1996–2004, Speaker of the California State Assembly, 1980–1995
• William J. Brown (Ohio politician), Ohio Attorney General, elected 1970
• Willie B. Brown, American politician in New Jersey

Elsewhere

• William Brown (British Columbia politician), Canadian politician in British Columbia
• William Brown (Manitoba politician), Canadian politician, 1922–1927
• William Heartz Brown, Canadian politician in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly
• William Brown (New Zealand politician), member of first New Zealand Parliament
• William Brown (Newfoundland politician), Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly.
• Bill Brown (New Zealand politician), New Zealand politician of the National Party

Writers

• William Brown (journalist), Canadian journalist and co-founder of the Quebec Gazette
• William Hill Brown, American novelist
• William Wells Brown, fugitive slave, African-American writer, and abolitionist
• William Slater Brown, American novelist, biographer and translator
• William F. Brown (writer), American playwright
• William Henry Brown (journalist), British co-operative movement journalist and activist

Other notable people

• William D. Brown, founder of Omaha, Nebraska
• William Brown (miner), British trade union leader
• William Penn Brown, American pioneer in the hobby of stamp collecting
• William Lincoln Brown, second Register of Copyrights in the United States Copyright Office
• William Robinson Brown, American horse breeder and director of the Brown Company
• William B. Brown, American lawyer and judge in Hawaii and Ohio
• William H. Brown III, African American attorney, fourth Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• William M. Brown (businessman), American businessman, CEO of Harris Corporation
• William Brown (headmaster), British headmaster
• Sir William Richmond Brown, 2nd Baronet, English landowner
• Sir William Brown (civil servant), English civil servant
• William Charles Langdon Brown, British banker
• William Roger Brown, British industrialist and philanthropist
• Willy Brown, victim of the Omaha race riot of 1919
• Bill Brown (rancher), American rancher

Characters

• William Brown,the main character in the Just William series
• Billy Brown of London Town, character featured on London Transport posters
• Billy Brown (Coronation Street)

Other uses

• William Brown (ship), American ship which struck an iceberg and sank on April 19, 1841
• William Brown Library and Museum, historic building in Liverpool, England
• William Brown Street, Liverpool