William Edwards (22 January 1851 – 12 February 1940) was a Welsh school inspector for nearly 50 years and a writer on educational topics.
[1] He was appointed a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford in 1874, holding this position until 1877.
In 1884, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the post of first principal of the new University College of North Wales, Bangor, the position going to Harry Reichel.
He wrote extensively on the subject of education, suggesting in 1929 in A New Proposal that a school certificate should be issued to each pupil, giving information about the value of the pupil's work in every subject examined.
Edwards died in Merthyr Tydfil, where he had long lived, on 12 February 1940.