John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer and conductor. In a career that has spanned seven decades, he has composed some of the most popular, recognizable, and critically acclaimed film scores in cinema history. He possesses a very distinct sound that blends romanticism, impressionism, and atonal music with complex orchestration. He is renowned for his collaborations with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, receiving numerous accolades including 26 Grammy Awards, five Academy Awards, seven BAFTA Awards, three Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. With 54 Academy Award nominations, he is the second-most nominated person, after Walt Disney, and is the oldest Oscar nominee in any category, at 91 years old.

Williams's early work as a film composer includes Valley of the Dolls (1967), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), Images (1972), and The Long Goodbye (1973). He has collaborated with Spielberg since The Sugarland Express (1974), composing music for all but five of his feature films. His awards for Best Original Score include Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1977), E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and Schindler's List (1993), among others. His work extends beyond film scores, including numerous classical concertos and other works for orchestral ensembles and solo instruments. He served as the Boston Pops' principal conductor from 1980 to 1993 and remains its laureate conductor.

Williams has composed theme music for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, NBC Sunday Night Football, "The Mission" theme used by NBC News and Seven News in Australia, and the television series Lost in Space and Land of the Giants, among others. Despite announcing his intention to retire from film score composing after Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in 2023, he rescinded this decision. He has received numerous honors, including the Kennedy Center Honor in 2004, the National Medal of the Arts in 2009, and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016. In 2022, Williams was appointed an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for services to film music.