William (or Bill) Patterson may refer to:
- William Patterson (engineer) (1795–1869), 19th century engineer and boat builder
- William Patterson (New York) (1789–1838), U.S. Representative from New York
- William Patterson (Ohio) (1790–1868), U.S. Representative from Ohio
- William Albert Patterson (1841–1917), Canadian Member of Parliament
- William John Patterson (1886–1976), Canadian Premier of Saskatchewan
- William Patrick Patterson, American new age instructor
- Bill Patterson (footballer) (born 1888), Australian rules footballer at St Kilda
- William A. Patterson (1899–1980), president of United Airlines from 1934 until 1966
- William L. Patterson (1891–1980), American civil rights activist; US Communist Party leader
- William R. Patterson (born 1975), Americans motivational speaker
- R. William Patterson (1908–1994), American politician; former mayor of Dayton, Ohio
- Billy Patterson (1918–1998), American football player for the Chicago Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates
- William Patterson, author of subjects and dialogues for the comic strip Jeff Hawke
- Bill Patterson (racing driver) (1923–2010), Australian motor racing driver
- William Patterson (politician), former Alberta MLA, 1959–1967
- William Patterson (cricketer) (1859–1946), English amateur cricketer
- William Patterson (priest) (1930–2002), Anglican priest
Famous quotes containing the word william:
“We agree fully that the mother and unborn child demand special consideration. But so does the soldier and the man maimed in industry. Industrial conditions that are suitable for a stalwart, young, unmarried woman are certainly not equally suitable to the pregnant woman or the mother of young children. Yet “welfare” laws apply to all women alike. Such blanket legislation is as absurd as fixing industrial conditions for men on a basis of their all being wounded soldiers would be.”
—National Woman’s Party, quoted in Everyone Was Brave. As, ch. 8, by William L. O’Neill (1969)