William Sampson Handley MD, MS, FRCS (12 April 1872 – 1962) was an English surgeon who influenced the development of cancer surgery. He was born in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England, he was the son of a Chemist Thomas Handley. He was educated at Loughborough Grammar School. Sampson Handley trained as a medical doctor at Guy's Hospital from 1889 where he qualified in 1895 and became an MD the following year. He took in an interest in pathology as a route to becoming a surgeon and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1897.