William Henry Benson (30 March 1803 – 27 January 1870)[1][2] was a civil servant in British India and a pioneer malacologist.
He made large collections of molluscs and described over 470 species, mainly from India, Sri Lanka, Burma and South Africa.
After graduating, he arrived in Calcutta on 30 October 1821 to begin a career that included positions as a District Collector and Officiating Judge in Meerut, Bareilly and other parts of northern India.
On the return from a trip to Mauritius he brought a couple of living Achatina fulica which he gave to a friend in Calcutta in April 1847 who subsequently released them in a garden at Chowringhee.
Benson's collection of shells was briefly in the possession of Sylvanus Hanley, who removed many of the detailed labels thus decreasing their scientific value.