William Smith (September 7, 1727 – May 14, 1803) was an Episcopal priest who served as first provost[1] of the College of Philadelphia, which became the University of Pennsylvania.

He worked as a clerk in the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel,[3] and as a tutor in Scotland and for the two children of Josiah Martin in Long Island, New York.

They asked Smith to teach Logic, Rhetoric, Natural and Moral Philosophy at the Academy and Charitable School of Philadelphia.

Indeed, during the French and Indian War, Smith published two anti-Quaker pamphlets that advocated the disenfranchisement of all Quakers, who were the political elite in Pennsylvania.

However, their pacifist beliefs made it difficult for the Quakers in government to provide funds for defense, and as a result anti-Quaker sentiment ran high, especially in the backcountry which suffered from frequent raids from Indians allied with the French.

"[10] Smith's virulent attacks on Quakers alienated him from Franklin, who was closely allied with the Pennsylvania Assembly.

[4] Smith advocated for the Church of England to appoint a bishop in America, a highly controversial proposal insofar as many Americans feared any ecclesiastical institution that might compel compliance with the force of royal authority.

[4] Smith was also the founding editor of The American Magazine, or Monthly Chronicle for the British Colonies, the first publication of its kind, which appeared from October 1757 until October 1758, when publication ceased owing to Smith's incarceration due to the previously mentioned libel action initiated by the Pennsylvania Assembly.

He was appointed to serve on the Philadelphia Committee of Correspondence in 1774, along with such notables as John Dickinson, Samuel Miles, and Joseph Reed.

[15] Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, was a patron of William Smith's and had some unfortunate personal tragedies which motivated her interest in the spread of religion.

The May 1, 1760 first free and voluntary Convention of the American (Anglican) Priesthood met at Christ Church, Philadelphia, Dr. Smith presiding.

Smith was having trouble getting the Privy Council in England to pay attention to his pleas for the King to approve the consecration of a bishop that would reside in the American colonies.

A modern look back at this period indicates that King George III's "mental" illness of an inherited biochemical etiology (porphyria) was rather unpredictable and caused great havoc in the order of things.

Their grandson William Rudolph Smith became a politician who served in both the Pennsylvania and Wisconsin state legislatures.

[20] The Provost Smith Lounge at the Fisher Hassenfeld College House at the University of Pennsylvania was named in his honor.