William Rudolph Smith (August 31, 1787 – August 22, 1868) was an American lawyer, politician, pioneer, and historian from Pennsylvania who served as the 5th Attorney General of Wisconsin, the first President of the Wisconsin Historical Society, and the first Adjutant General of Wisconsin.

In 1846, Smith was hired as Clerk of the Legislative Council (the upper body of the territorial legislature) and, that same year, was elected as one of Iowa County's delegates to Wisconsin's first constitutional convention. He sat in the chair of the constitutional convention when it first convened until the convention was able to elect a president.[9] The constitution produced by this convention was ultimately rejected by the voters and another attempt was made in 1848, which produced the Constitution of Wisconsin.

After Wisconsin achieved statehood, in the 2nd session of the Wisconsin State Senate (1849), the members elected Smith as Chief Clerk of the Senate. He was re-elected for another term in the 3rd Legislature (1850).[10] In 1852, Smith was commissioned by the Legislature to compose a documentary history of Wisconsin and, at the creation of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Smith was appointed the first President of the organization. He ultimately produced two volumes of a planned three volume history.[8]