William J. Vaughn (February 15, 1834 – December 1, 1912) was an American university professor, school principal, librarian and book collector.

[2][3] He continued to teach at Alabama during the American Civil War: as an Instructor of Latin and Greek from 1860 to 1863, and as a Professor of Mathematics from 1863 to 1865.

[6] He lived at the Vaughn House on the Vanderbilt University campus, now home to the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities.

[6] He owned about 6,000 books, five hundred of which were about the French Emperor Napoleon (1769-1821); they were all donated to the Vanderbilt University library after his death.

[6] On August 17, 1865, shortly after the Civil War, Vaughn married Abbie Maria Scott (1841-1923) in Marion, Alabama.

[1] His grandson, William S. Vaughn (1903–1996), was a prominent businessman who served on the Board of Trust of Vanderbilt University from 1952 to 1995.