William Lovell Finley (August 9, 1876 – June 29, 1953) was an American wildlife photographer and conservationist from Northern California.

[2] He was born on August 9, 1876, in Santa Clara, California, to John Pettus Finley and Nancy Catherine Rucker.

Finley's parents had migrated west by covered wagon in 1852 from Saline County, Missouri, to Santa Clara, California, when they were just small children.

[5] Finley married, and he and his wife Irene traveled together on expeditions in the Bering Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and mountainous parts of North America.

[9] In 1910, he was appointed to study fish and game commissions in other states, and in 1911, based on his information, one was set up in Oregon.