| William Dunlap Simpson | |
| Office: | Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court |
| Term: | September 6, 1880 - December 26, 1890 |
| Predecessor: | Ammiel J. Willard |
| Successor: | Henry McIver |
| Order1: | 78th |
| Office1: | Governor of South Carolina |
| Term Start1: | February 26, 1879 |
| Term End1: | September 1, 1880 |
| Lieutenant1: | None |
| Predecessor1: | Wade Hampton III |
| Successor1: | Thomas Bothwell Jeter |
| Order2: | 56th |
| Office2: | Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina |
| Term2: | December 14, 1876 - February 26, 1879 |
| Governor2: | Wade Hampton III |
| Predecessor2: | Richard Howell Gleaves |
| Successor2: | John D. Kennedy |
| Office3: | Member of the Confederate States House of Representatives from South Carolina's 4th district |
| Term3: | February 5, 1863 - March 18, 1865 |
| Predecessor3: | Milledge Luke Bonham |
| Successor3: | Position abolished |
| Office4: | Member of the South Carolina Senate from Laurens District |
| Term4: | November 26, 1860 - February 5, 1863 |
| Predecessor4: | James Henderson Irby |
| Successor4: | Barney Smith Jones |
| Office5: | Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from Laurens District |
| Term5: | November 22, 1858 - November 26, 1860 |
| Term6: | November 27, 1854 - November 24, 1856 |
| Birth Date: | 27 October 1823 |
| Birth Place: | Laurens District, South Carolina, US |
| Death Place: | Columbia, South Carolina, US |
| Spouse: | Jane Elizabeth Young |
| Children: | 7 |
| Profession: | Lawyer, politician |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Alma Mater: | South Carolina College Harvard Law School |
| Allegiance: | Confederate States of America |
| Branch: | Confederate States Army |
| Rank: | lieutenant colonel |
| Battles: | American Civil War |
William Dunlap Simpson (October 27, 1823December 26, 1890) was the 78th governor of South Carolina from February 26, 1879, when the previous governor, Wade Hampton, resigned to take his seat in the U.S. Senate, until 1880. That year Simpson resigned to become Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court.
Born in Laurens District, South Carolina, in 1823, he was educated at South Carolina College (later the University of South Carolina), completing his studies in 1843. He spent one term at Harvard Law School. He practiced law in Laurens with his partner (and father-in-law) Henry Clinton Young. As of 1860, Simpson enslaved 31 people at his properties in Laurens.[1]
He served in the South Carolina legislature in the 1850s and early 1860s, and in the Confederate States House of Representatives from 1863 to 1865.[2] [3] [4]
After the Civil War, Simpson returned to practice law in Laurens until 1876, when he ran successfully for the post of lieutenant governor.[5] That year Democrats regained control of the state legislature and the governorship. He was re-elected in 1878. Upon Wade Hampton resigning from the governorship to assume his US Senate seat (to which he was elected by the state legislature), Simpson was elevated to become the 78th governor of South Carolina.
In 1880 he resigned after being appointed Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court. He served for ten years from 1880 until his death in 1890. He is buried at the Laurens City Cemetery.