William Keith Emerson (May 1, 1925 – October 19, 2016), usually known as Bill Emerson, was an American malacologist, a biologist who studied mollusks.

[1] He was a Curator Emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City where he had been a curator since 1955.

He was also Chairman of the Department of Living Invertebrates and head of the Malacology section for several decades.

[2] Emerson has written numerous scientific publications and several popular shell books including: