William Russell may refer to:

Bishopry

• William Russell (bishop of Sodor) (before 1300–1374), Cistercian prelate from Isle of Man
• William Russell (bishop of North China) (1821–1879), Irish Protestant missionary to China
• William Thomas Russell (1863–1927), American Roman Catholic bishop of Charleston

Business

• William Russell (banker) (1734–1817) English collier and banker
• William Russell (merchant) (1740–1818), English merchant
• William Hepburn Russell (1812–1872), American freight contractor, founder of Pony Express
• William Greeneberry Russell (1818–1887), American prospector and miner
• William Hamilton Russell (1856–1907), American architect

Education

• William Russell (educator) (1798–1873), American teacher born in Scotland
• William Fletcher Russell (1890–1956), American educationalist; president of Teachers College
• William D. Russell (historian) (born 1938), American history professor

Film

• William Russell (American actor) (1884–1929), American stage and screen actor
• William D. Russell (director) (1908–1968), American film and television director
• William Russell (English actor) (1924–2024), British film and television actor

Judiciary

• William Alison Russell (1875–1948), Scottish lawyer and judge
• William Oldnall Russell (1785–1833), English chief justice of Bengal

Politics

Kingdom of England

• William Russell (knight) (1257–1311), holder of a moiety of the feudal barony of North Cadbury, Somerset
• William Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Thornhaugh (1553/63–1613), English military commander
• Sir William Russell, 1st Baronet, of Chippenham (before 1585–1654), English MP for Windsor
• Sir William Russell, 1st Baronet, of Wytley (1602–1669), English MP for Worcestershire
• William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford (1616–1700), English peer and soldier
• William Russell, Lord Russell (1639–1683), English politician

United Kingdom

• Lord William Russell (1767–1840), MP best known as a murder victim
• Sir William Russell, 1st Baronet, of Charlton Park (1773–1839), British baronet
• William Congreve Russell (1778–1850), English MP and High Sheriff of Worcestershire
• William Russell (Durham MP) (1798–1850), Member of Parliament (MP) for Saltash, Bletchingley and County Durham
• William Russell, 8th Duke of Bedford (1809–1872), member of United Kingdom Parliament
• Sir William Russell, 2nd Baronet (1822–1892), MP for Dover, 1857–1859
• William Russell (Bolton MP) (1859–1937), Member of Parliament for Bolton, 1922–1923
• William Russell (Lord Mayor) (born 1965), Lord Mayor of London, 2019–2021

United States

• William Russell (Virginia politician) (1735–1793), Virginia frontier soldier and legislator, father of William Russell of Kentucky
• William Russell (Kentucky politician) (1758–1825), American soldier, pioneer, and politician
• William Russell (Ohio politician) (1782–1845), U.S. Representative from Ohio
• William F. Russell (Florida politician) (c.1805–after 1875), Speaker of Florida House of Representatives
• William Huntington Russell (1809–1885), businessman, educator and politician from Connecticut
• William Fiero Russell (1812–1896), American congressman from New York
• William A. Russell (New York politician) (after 1820–before 1897), New York politician
• William A. Russell (Massachusetts politician) (1831–1899), U.S. Representative from Massachusetts
• William E. Russell (politician) (1857–1896), governor of Massachusetts between 1891 and 1894
• William Hepburn Russell (baseball) (1857–1911), lawyer, politician and owner of Boston Braves
• William W. Russell (before 1870–after 1908), United States Ambassador to Colombia, 1904–1905 and to Venezuela, 1905–1908

Oceania

• William Russell (New South Wales politician) (1807–1866), member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
• William Russell (New Zealand politician) (1838–1913), Member of Parliament
• William Russell (Australian politician) (1842–1912), Australian senator from South Australia

Science

• William James Russell (1830–1909), English chemist
• William Russell (physician) (1852–1940), Scottish pathologist
• William Ritchie Russell (1903–1980), British neurologist

Society

• Elizabeth, Lady William Russell (1793–1874), English socialite, wife of Lord George William Russell

Sports

• William Russell (cricketer) (1866–1929), Australian-born English first-class cricketer
• William Russell (fencer) (1896–1958), American Olympic fencer
• Willie Russell (1901–after 1935), Scottish footballer
• Willie Russell (footballer, born 1903) (1903–after 1940), Scottish footballer
• William Eric Russell (born 1936), Scottish-born English cricketer

War

• William Howard Russell (1820–1907), Irish reporter and one of first modern war correspondents
• William Carmichael Russell (1824–1905), British Bengal artillery officer

Writing

• William Russell (Scottish writer) (1741–1793), Scottish writer
• William Russell (organist) (1777–1813), English composer
• William Russell (fiction writer) (1806–1876), English writer of detective and other stories
• William Clark Russell (1844–1911), English writer of nautical novels
• Willy Russell (born 1947), English playwright, lyricist and composer

See also

• Bill Russell (disambiguation)
• Russell Williams (disambiguation)
• Sir William Russell, 1st Baronet (disambiguation)
• William Russel (disambiguation)

Topics referred to by the same term

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