William Russell may refer to:
- Ordered chronologically within each section or subsection.
Actors and directors[edit]
- William Russell (American actor) (1884–1929), stage and screen performer
- William D. Russell (director) (1908–1968), American film and TV director
- William Russell (English actor) (born 1924), film and TV performer
Businessmen[edit]
- William Russell (banker) (1734–1817) English merchant who made a fortune from coal
- William Russell (merchant) (1740–1818), English businessman
- William Hepburn Russell (1812–1872), American businessman, founder of Pony Express
- William Greeneberry Russell (1818–1887), American prospector and miner
Educators[edit]
- 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
Politicians[edit]
Kingdom of England[edit]
- 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[edit]
- 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[edit]
- 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
Elsewhere[edit]
- 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
Religious figures[edit]
- 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
Scientists[edit]
- William James Russell (1830–1909), English chemist
- William Russell (physician) (1852–1940), Scottish pathologist
- William Ritchie Russell (1903–1980), British neurologist
Sportsmen[edit]
- 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
Writers and composers[edit]
- William Russell (Scottish writer) (1741–1793), Scottish historical and miscellaneous 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
Others[edit]
- William Oldnall Russell (1785–1833), English chief justice of Bengal
- Lady William Russell (1793–1874), English socialite, wife of Lord George William Russell
- William Howard Russell (1820–1907), Irish reporter and one of first modern war correspondents
- William Carmichael Russell (1824–1905), British Bengal Artillery officer
- William Hamilton Russell (1856–1907), American architect
- William Alison Russell (1875–1948), Scottish lawyer and judge