William Hanes Ayres (February 5, 1916 – December 27, 2000) was an American World War II veteran and politician who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio from 1951 to 1971.

He attended the Weller Township High School, and graduated from Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1936.

During the Second World War he served as a private in the United States Army until being discharged December 17, 1945.

"[citation needed] He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1970 to the Ninety-second Congress defeated by John Seiberling, an Akron Democrat and scion.

[6] He died of heart and kidney ailments on December 27, 2000, in Columbia, Maryland.