Sir William Henderson (10 April 1826 – 9 June 1904) was a Scottish merchant and philanthropist. He was born in Aberdour, Aberdeenshire, the son of a farmer, and his first job was a junior position in the Fraserburgh branch of the North of Scotland Bank. However, he soon moved to Aberdeen to work for the Aberdeen White Star Line, founded in 1825 by George Thompson, a ship-owning company whose fleet of Aberdeen clippers included the Thermopylae. He travelled widely on the firm's business, and in 1886 he became senior partner of the firm, on the retirement of George Thompson. This was a time of great change as sailing ships were replaced by steamships.