William Arthur Watts (26 May 1930 – 26 April 2010) was a Professor in Botany at and - (later) Provost of - Trinity College Dublin.
He was born in Dublin's docklands and studied Modern Languages at Trinity, where he was elected a Scholar in 1950, graduating in 1952 and in Natural Sciences the following year.He became a fellow of Trinity in 1960, Reader in Botany in 1964, Professor in 1966 and Provost from 1981 to 1991.He was President of the Royal Irish Academy from 1982 to 1986.