| William Brand | |
| Honorific Suffix: | WS FRSE |
| Birth Date: | 5 January 1807 |
| Birth Place: | Peterhead, Aberdeenshire |
| Nationality: | British |
| Death Date: | 18 October 1869 |
| Field: | Botany |
William Brand WS FRSE (5 January 1807, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire – 15 October 1869) was a Scottish solicitor, banker, botanist and plant collector.
He was born in Peterhead in Scotland the son of Charles Brand a farmer. He attended parish schools, and completed a medical degree at the university of Edinburgh. It was around this time that he grew an interest for botany.[1]
After his studies, William Brand was apprenticed to Scott, Findlay and Balderston, rising to become a partner in 1834, the year he also became a Writer to the Signet. In 1836 he is shown as working from 18 Dundas Street in Edinburgh's New Town.[2]
He served as secretary to the Union Bank of Scotland from 1846 to 1869.
He was a founding member of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh on 8 February 1836, and the discoverer of the Astragalus alpinus.
A bust of William Brand stands in the library of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
In 1848, William Brand married Eleanor Bruce Mitchell. They had 3 children.