William James Durant (November 5, 1885 – November 7, 1981) was an American historian and philosopher, best known for his 11-volume work, The Story of Civilization, which details the history of Eastern and Western civilizations. This monumental work was written in collaboration with his wife, Ariel Durant, and published between 1935 and 1975.

Durant was earlier noted for The Story of Philosophy (1926), described as "a groundbreaking work that helped to popularize philosophy." He conceived philosophy as total perspective or seeing things sub specie totius (from the perspective of the whole), a phrase inspired by Spinoza's sub specie aeternitatis (from the perspective of the eternal). He sought to unify and humanize the vast body of historical knowledge, which had become fragmented into esoteric specialties, and to vitalize it for contemporary application.

As a result of their success, Will and Ariel Durant were jointly awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.