William Alfred Westropp Foyle (1885–1963) was a British bookseller and businessman who co-founded Foyles bookshop in 1903 with his brother Gilbert Foyle. William Foyle was one of the leading London booksellers of the 20th century. In 1903 he opened his first bookshop with his brother Gilbert and by the late 1920s the business had grown so rapidly that their bookstore in Charing Cross Road held a stock of four million volumes on over thirty miles of bookshelves, and the name of Foyle had become synonymous with bookselling in London. His vision for the business was a bookshop for the world - for every one from any station in life - "The People's Bookshop". His inspiration was James Lackington's late 18th century "Temple of Muses" at Chiswell Street, London.