William Gibson (1548 – 29 November 1596) was a layman from Ripon in Yorkshire, England, a member of a noble Scottish family, who was executed at York for professing the Roman Catholic faith.
[1] With him also suffered George Errington of Herst, Northumberland; William Knight of South Duffield and (after a short reprieve) Henry Abbot of Howden, also in Yorkshire.
He frequently represented King James V to the Holy See, and, with the support of Cardinal David Beaton, his writings in defence of the Catholic faith had earned him the papal title of "Guardian of the Scottish Church" (Latin: Custos Ecclesiae Scotiae).
Gibson was sent in August 1593 to York Castle, where he was joined shortly thereafter by fellow future martyrs William Knight and George Errington, both arrested for participation in a rising.
To gain his freedom he had recourse to an act of treachery: feigning a desire to become a Roman Catholic, he won the confidence of Gibson and his two companions, who explained their faith to him.