William J. Hosey (May 5, 1854 – September 10, 1937) was an American politician and the 20th Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana a year after his parents, Michael and Jean Frayne Hosey, immigrated to the United States from County Wexford in Ireland.

In 1858, the four-year-old Hosey moved with his family to Mount Vernon, Ohio, where his father took a job as a gardener on the estate of Colonel Jesse P.

At age 13, three years after his father died from malaria, extreme poverty forced William Hosey to drop out of a Catholic grammar school to work at Mount Vernon-based C & C Cooper Company machine shop.

[1] During this time, William attended night classes to finish his education.