William Witherle Lawrence (1876 − July 25, 1958) was an American philologist who served as Professor of English at Columbia University from 1905 to 1936.

His father, Franklin M. Lawrence, was the founder of the Portland Stove Foundry.

Since 1905 he served as Professor of English at Columbia University, where he would stay until his retirement in 1936.

During World War I, Lawrence was an instructor in the Student Army Training Corps.

Lawrence was the author of notable works on Beowulf, William Shakespeare, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and other subjects.