William Dawson

William Dawson may refer to:

Politicians

 * William Johnston Dawson (1765–1796/8), U.S. Representative from North Carolina
 * William L. Dawson (politician) (1886–1970), U.S. Representative from Illinois
 * William M. O. Dawson (1853–1916), Governor of West Virginia
 * William Dawson (diplomat) (1885–1972), career United States diplomat
 * William A. Dawson (1903–1981), U.S. Representative from Utah
 * William Crosby Dawson (1798–1856), United States Senator from Georgia
 * William Curran Dawson (1818–1893), Alabama politician, soldier
 * William Dawson (Missouri politician) (1848–1929), U.S. Representative from Missouri
 * William Dawson (mayor) (1825–1901), mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota
 * William McDonell Dawson (1822–1890), member of the Legislative Assembly for Canada East
 * William Dawson (New Zealand politician) (1852–1923), New Zealand politician for Dunedin Suburbs, co-founder of Speight's brewery
 * William Eddison Dawson (1829–1902), English-born businessman and political figure on Prince Edward Island

Other people

 * William Dawson (college president) (1704?–1752), second president of the College of William & Mary
 * William Dawson (sportsman) (1850–1916), English cricketer and rugby union player
 * William "Red" Dawson (born 1942), American football player
 * William Harbutt Dawson (1860–1948), British writer
 * William James Dawson (1854–1928), English clergyman and author
 * William L. Dawson (composer) (1899–1990), African-American composer
 * William Francis Dawson (died 1829), road builder in British Ceylon, present-day Sri Lanka
 * William Henderson Dawson (died 1879), Tyneside poet, songwriter, author and bookbinder
 * William Leon Dawson (1873–1928), American ornithologist, author and lecturer
 * William Dawson (ornithologist) (1927–2020), American ornithologist