William Henry Parker (1809-1889) was Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Middlebury College from 1848 to 1881. The son of John Clark and Susan (Mason) Parker, he was born in Hartford, New York, on August 23, 1809.

A member of the Middlebury Class of 1830, he served as Principal of the Bennington Academy, 1830-1832, before becoming Tutor at  Middlebury College from 1832-1834. He attended Andover Theological Seminary from 1834-1836. He became Teacher of Languages at St. Lawrence Academy, Potsdam, New York, from 1836-1846, and then Principal of the same, from 1846-1848.

In 1848 Parker was appointed Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Middlebury College, and served in that capacity until 1881. He served as Treasurer of the College from, 1855-1884, and a Trustee, 1855-1889.

In 1837, he married Ruth Robinson, with whom he had two sons.  With his second wife, Catherine Denton, whom he married in 1846, he had six more children.

Parker died in Middlebury on January 31, 1889.