William B. Waddell (businessman)

William B. Waddell (1807 – 1872) was an American businessman who played a prominent role in the development of the American West, particularly in transportation and communication. He is best known as one of the founders of the Pony Express.

Waddell formed a partnership with William Hepburn Russell and Alexander Majors, creating Russell, Majors and Waddell, a freighting company that became one of the largest in the West. They supplied provisions to the U.S. Army and various trading posts.

In 1860, despite skepticism about its financial viability, Russell, Majors and Waddell launched the Pony Express, a daring mail delivery service that used a relay of riders on horseback to carry messages across the continent in record time. Though short-lived (lasting only about 18 months), the Pony Express captured the public imagination and demonstrated the feasibility of rapid communication across the vast distances of the American West.

The financial burdens of the Pony Express, coupled with other economic factors, led to financial difficulties for Russell, Majors and Waddell. The firm eventually went bankrupt. After the failure of the Pony Express, Waddell remained involved in business ventures, though none achieved the same level of historical significance. He died in Lexington, Missouri, in 1872.