William Mecham (1853 – 21 August 1902) was a British cartoonist and performer, taking the stage and pen name Tom Merry.

He was a professional caricaturist who gave 'Lightning Cartoon' presentations on the music hall stage, and was the first celebrity of any kind to appear in a British film.

Merry's musical hall stage act appears to have involved high speed drawing of subjects drawn both from the audience, and of famous figures from memory.

They were produced by Robert Paul and featured Merry drawing the German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II (1895),[6] and Prince Bismarck (1895).

[9] Merry also did illustrations for a book on Canvey Island, he died before its publication, and a dedication in the book reads: In memoriam of William Mecham, artist, cartoonist, and caricaturist, better known to the British public by his professional soubriquet, Tom Merry, who died suddenly at Benfleet Station,[10] Essex, on Thursday, 21 August 1902, aged 49 years.