William L. Bray (September 19, 1865 in Burnside, Illinois[1]–1953) was a botanist, plant ecologist, biogeographer and Professor of Botany at Syracuse University.
[3] In 1907, he was made head of the Botany Department at Syracuse, and in 1908 started teaching a forestry course in the basement of Lyman Hall.
[4][5] In 1911, in addition to assuming the deanship of forestry he organized the Agricultural Division at Syracuse University.
The same year, he became one of the founding members—along with Raphael Zon and James W. Toumey—of the Ecological Society of America.
[6] Bray remained at Syracuse University until 1943, as Chair of Botany and later as Dean of the Graduate School.