William Brown

William Brown (17 February 1888 – 18 January 1975) was a British mycologist and plant pathologist, known for his ground-breaking research on fungal physiology and the physiology of plant parasitism by fungi, carried out in 1912–28. Notable students include Geoff Baylis, John Colhoun, Denis Garrett, Philip H. Gregory, Lilian E. Hawker, Michael F. Madelin and Ronald K. S. Wood.

Brown was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1938, and served on the society's council (1946–48). He was president of the Association of Applied Biologists (1943–44; 1953–54) and of the British Mycological Society (1933–34), and also a sectional president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (1951). He was appointed an honorary member of the British Mycological Society (1963) and a fellow of the Institute of Biology (1963).