William, Willie, Bill or Billy Watson may refer to:

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Arts

  • William Watson (songwriter) (1794–1840), English concert hall singer and songwriter
  • William Watson (poet) (1858–1935), English poet
  • William J. Watson (1865–1948), Scottish teacher and toponymist
  • Billy Watson (actor) (1923–2022), American actor
  • William Watson (writer) (1930–2005), also known as Bill Watson, Scottish writer
  • William C. Watson (1938–1997), American actor
  • Willie Watson (musician) (born 1979), American folk musician

Military

  • William H. Watson (1815–1846), Mexican–American War soldier from Maryland, U.S.
  • William Watson (sergeant) (1826–1906), in the Confederate States Army
  • William Watson (surgeon) (1837–1879), in Pennsylvania Volunteers during the American Civil War
  • William Thornton Watson (1887–1961), New Zealand officer in the Australian Imperial Force
  • William E. Watson, military historian

Politics

  • William Watson (16th century MP), MP for the City of York
  • William Henry Watson (1796–1860), British politician and judge
  • William Watson (New South Wales politician) (1815–1877), Australian politician
  • William John Watson (1839–1886), Australian politician
  • William T. Watson (1849–1917), American banker and governor of Delaware
  • William W. Watson Sr., 19th century North Carolina politician
  • William Watson (Australian politician) (1864–1938), Australian politician
  • William McLean Watson (1874–1962), Scottish politician
  • W. Marvin Watson (1924–2017), U.S. postmaster general
  • William Watson, mayor of Rockford, Illinois, U.S., 1878–79

Science

  • William Watson (scientist) (1715–1787), English physician and scientist
  • William Watson (physician) (1744–1824), English physician and naturalist
  • William Watson (surveyor and scientist) (1784–1857), cartographer and sundial-maker from Seaton Ross
  • William Livingstone Watson (1835–1903), Scottish East India merchant and astronomer
  • Watson Cheyne or Sir William Watson (1852–1932), 1st Baronet Cheyne, Scottish surgeon and bacteriologist
  • William Watson (botanist) (1858–1925), British botanist and horticulturalist
  • William Watson (physicist, born 1868) (1868–1919), British physicist
  • William Watson (Scottish physicist) (1884–1952), FRSE Scottish physicist and mathematician
  • William Weldon Watson (1899–1992), American nuclear physicist

Sports

Association football

  • William Watson (footballer, born 1873) (1873–1929), Scottish footballer (Falkirk FC and Scotland)
  • Billy Watson (footballer, born 1890) (1890–1955), English international footballer with Burnley, 1908–1925
  • Billy Watson (footballer, born 1893) (1893–1962), English footballer with Huddersfield Town, 1912–1927
  • William Watson (footballer, fl. 1903–1909), Lincoln City footballer active in the 1900s
  • Bill Watson (footballer, born 1899) (1899–1969), English footballer in the 1920s–30s
  • Bill Watson (footballer, born 1916) (1916–1986), English footballer, fullback for Lincoln City, Chesterfield and Rochdale
  • William Watson (footballer, born 1900) (1900–?), Scottish footballer (Dumbarton FC)
  • Willie Watson (footballer, born 1910), Scottish footballer (Hibernian, Ayr United)
  • Jimmy Watson (footballer, born 1914) (1914–1979), aka Bill Watson (William James Boyd Watson), English footballer in the 1930s
  • Billy Watson (soccer), Scottish-American footballer in the 1920s–30s
  • Billy Watson (Scottish footballer) (died 1950), Bradford City A.F.C. footballer, 1921–1931
  • Willie Watson (English footballer), English footballer, full-back for Northampton Town
  • Willie Watson (English cricketer) (1920–2004), English cricketer and footballer <!-- belongs in both football and cricket sections -->
  • Willie Watson (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2026), Scottish footballer (Manchester United, Motherwell)
  • Graham Watson (footballer, born 1949), English footballer, aka "Willie" Watson

Cricket

  • William Watson (cricketer, born 1881) (1881–1926), Australian cricketer
  • Willie Watson (English cricketer) (1920–2004), English cricketer and footballer
  • Bill Watson (cricketer) (1931–2018), Australian cricketer
  • Willie Watson (New Zealand cricketer) (born 1965), New Zealand cricketer

Rugby

  • Billy Watson (rugby union) (1869–1953), member of the 1893 New Zealand rugby union team
  • Bill Watson (rugby union) (born 1949), Scotland international rugby union player
  • Billy Watson (rugby league), rugby league footballer of the 1930s for England, and Keighley

Other sports

  • William Watson (motoring pioneer) (1873–1961), British racing driver and motoring pioneer
  • William Watson (weightlifter) (1918–1998), British Olympic weightlifter
  • Whipper Billy Watson (1915–1990), Canadian wrestler
  • William Watson (decathlete) (1916–1973), aka "Big Bill" Watson, American track and field athlete
  • William Watson (basketball) ( 1920s), African-American basketball player
  • Bill Watson (baseball), American baseball player
  • Bill Watson (ice hockey) (born 1964), ice hockey player in Minnesota
  • Willie Watson (bowls), Irish international lawn bowler
  • William Poss Watson (1868–1950), Australian rules footballer

Other people

  • William Watson (bow maker) (1930–2018), British bow maker
  • William Watson (chess player) (born 1962), English chess grandmaster
  • William Watson (economist), Canadian economist, member of the research advisory board for Macdonald–Laurier Institute
  • William Watson (merchant) (died 1559), English merchant and shipowner
  • William Watson (priest) (1559–1603), English Roman Catholic priest and conspirator
  • William Watson (sinologist) (1917–2007), professor of Chinese art and archaeology at London University
  • William Watson, Baron Watson (1827–1899), Scottish judge
  • William Watson, Baron Thankerton (1873–1948), Scottish judge
  • William R. Watson (1887–1973), Canadian art dealer
  • Sir William Renny Watson (1838–1900), British engineer and businessman

Other uses

  • SS William L. Watson, a Liberty ship