William Boyd "Bill" Watterson II is an American cartoonist and the author of the influential and popular comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. His career as a syndicated cartoonist ran from 1985 to 1995; he retired at the end of 1995 with a short statement to newspaper editors and his fans that he felt he had achieved all he could in the comic strip medium.

During the early years of his career, Watterson produced several drawings and additional contributions for Target: The Political Cartoon Quarterly. He is known for his views on licensing and comic syndication, as well as for his reclusive nature.

Watterson was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. The suburban Midwestern United States setting of Ohio was part of the inspiration for the setting of Calvin and Hobbes. Watterson currently lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.