| Author Name | Profession | Nationality |
| W. Averell Harriman | Politician | American |
| W. C. Fields | Comedian | American |
| W. Edwards Deming | Scientist | American |
| W. H. Davies | Poet | Welsh |
| W. L. George | Writer | English |
| W. Mark Felt | Public Servant | American |
| W. S. Gilbert | Dramatist | English |
| Wade Davis | Scientist | Canadian |
| Walker Evans | Photographer | American |
| Wally Amos | Businessman | American |
| Wally George | Celebrity | American |
| Wally Lamb | Author | American |
| Walt Alston | Athlete | American |
| Walt Kelly | Cartoonist | American |
| Walter Bagehot | Author | English |
| Walter Elliot | Politician | Scottish |
| Walter Gilbert | Scientist | American |
| Walter Hagen | Athlete | American |
| Walter Isaacson | Writer | American |
| Walter Johnson | Athlete | American |
| Walter Kaufmann | Philosopher | German |
| Walter Kerr | Critic | American |
| Walter Lang | Director | American |
| Walter Legge | Businessman | British |
| Walter Savage Landor | Poet | English |
| Wanda Jackson | Musician | American |
| Wanda Landowska | Musician | Polish |
| Wangari Maathai | ||
| Warren Ellis | Author | British |
| Warren Farrell | Writer | American |
| Warren G. Harding | President | American |
| Warren Jeffs | Criminal | American |
| Warwick Davis | Actor | English |
| Washington Allston | Artist | American |
| Washington Irving | Writer | American |
| Wassily Kandinsky | Artist | Russian |
| Waylon Jennings | Musician | American |
| Wayne Allard | Politician | American |
| Wen Ho Lee | Scientist | American |
| Wendell H. Ford | Politician | American |
| Wendell Johnson | Psychologist | American |
| Wendi Mclendon Covey | Actress | American |
| Wendy Carlos | Musician | American |
| Werner Erhard | Celebrity | American |
| Werner Finck | Comedian | German |
| Whitey Ford | Athlete | American |
| Wilfrid Laurier | Statesman | Canadian |
| Wilhelm Backhaus | Musician | German |
| Wilhelm Canaris | Soldier | German |
| Wilhelm Keitel | Celebrity | German |
| Will Allison | Author | American |
| Will Carleton | ||
| Will Carling | Athlete | English |
| Will Eisner | Cartoonist | American |
| Will Estes | Actor | American |
| Will Ferrell | Comedian | American |
| Will Harvey | Businessman | American |
| Willa Cather | Author | American |
| Willard Gaylin | Scientist | American |
| Willem Dafoe | Actor | American |
| William Adams | Explorer | English |
| William Albert Allard | Photographer | |
| William Alexander | ||
| William Allan | Artist | Scottish |
| William Allen Egan | Politician | American |
| William Allingham | Poet | Irish |
| William Ames | Philosopher | English |
| William Baldwin | Actor | American |
| William Banting | Celebrity | English |
| William Barclay | Theologian | Scottish |
| William Bartram | Environmentalist | American |
| William Camden | Historian | English |
| William Cameron Forbes | Diplomat | American |
| William Carey | Clergyman | English |
| William Cartwright | Dramatist | English |
| William Cavendish | Public Servant | British |
| William Christopher Handy | Musician | American |
| William Dampier | Explorer | English |
| William Daniels | Actor | American |
| William Davenant | Poet | English |
| William Devane | Actor | American |
| William E. Geist | ||
| William E. Gladstone | Leader | British |
| William Eardley Iv | Public Servant | American |
| William Emerson | Mathematician | English |
| William Empson | Poet | English |
| William F. Devault | Poet | American |
| William Falconer | Poet | Scottish |
| William Feather | Author | American |
| William Floyd | Politician | American |
| William Foege | Scientist | American |
| William Gaddis | Novelist | American |
| William Gass | ||
| William Gibson | Writer | American |
| William Gilbert | Composer | British |
| William Gillette | Actor | American |
| William Glasser | Psychologist | American |
| William H. Gass | Novelist | American |
| William Hague | Politician | British |
| William Hall | Soldier | Canadian |
| William Halsey | Soldier | American |
| William Hamilton | Politician | Scottish |
| William Harvey | Scientist | English |
| William Henry Harrison | President | American |
| William Jackson | ||
| William James | Philosopher | American |
| William Jay | Clergyman | English |
| William Jerome | Musician | American |
| William Kapell | Musician | American |
| William Kempe | Actor | English |
| William Kennedy | Writer | American |
| William Kent | Architect | English |
| William Kidd | Explorer | Scottish |
| William L. Jenkins | Politician | American |
| William Labov | Writer | American |
| William Landay | Novelist | American |
| William Langewiesche | ||
| William Laud | Clergyman | English |
| William Law | Clergyman | English |
| William Lloyd Garrison | Journalist | American |
| William Lyon Mackenzie King | Politician | Canadian |
| William M. Daley | Politician | American |
| William M. Evarts | Lawyer | American |
| William Maxwell Aitken | Businessman | Canadian |
| William P. Leahy | Educator | American |
| William R. Alger | Writer | American |
| William R. Keating | Politician | American |
| William Ralph Inge | Clergyman | English |
| William Rowan Hamilton | Mathematician | Irish |
| William S. Hart | Actor | American |
| William Samuel Johnson | Politician | American |
| William Shakespeare | Dramatist | English |
| William Wallace Campbell | Scientist | American |
| Willie Aames | Actor | American |
| Willie Davis | Athlete | |
| Willie Keeler | Athlete | American |
| Willis Lamb | Scientist | American |
| Winfield Scott Hancock | Soldier | American |
| Winston Churchill | Statesman | English |
| Wiz Khalifa | Musician | American |
| Wladyslaw Anders | Politician | Polish |
| Wojciech Jaruzelski | Leader | Polish |
| Wolcott Gibbs | Writer | American |
| Wolfman Jack | Entertainer | American |
| Woody Allen | Director | American |
| Woody Harrelson | Actor | American |
| Wyatt Earp | Public Servant | American |
| Wyclef Jean | Musician | American |
“I call it fan fatigue. I went to see Bob Dylan last year, who I think is absolutely incredible, but he suffers from his audience.”
“St. Paul would say to the philosophers that God created man so that he would seek the Divine, try to attain the Divine. That is why all pre-Christian philosophy is theological at its summit.”