• William Smith (1556–1615), English academic and head of Clare College at the University of Cambridge • William Smith (c. 1653–1735), English historian who studied old artifacts and worked at University College, Oxford • William Smith (1711–1787), English expert in ancient languages and Anglican church leader in Chester • William Smith (1727–1803), Scottish-born priest in the Episcopal Church and first leader of the University of Pennsylvania • William Pitt Smith (1760–1796), American doctor, teacher, and writer about religion • William Andrew Smith (1802–1870), American college leader and church clergyman • William Smith (1813–1893), English editor and publisher of dictionaries • William Robertson Smith (1846–1894), Scottish scientist who studied ancient languages, physics, archaeology, and religious texts • William Benjamin Smith (1850–1934), American math teacher at Tulane University • William Ramsay Smith (1859–1937), Australian scientist who studied human cultures and societies • William George Smith (1866–1918), Scottish scientist who studied the mind and behavior • William Hall Smith (1866–after 1920), leader of Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College from 1916 to 1920 • William Cunningham Smith (1871–1943), American teacher of English literature, university leader, and writer • William Roy Smith (1876–1938), American teacher and historian • William Charles Smith (1881–1972), English expert in music history and theory • William Newton-Smith (1943–2023), scientist who studied how science works and the nature of scientific knowledge • Willie W. Smith (1907–1989), American scientist who studied how the body works