William Dean was an English Roman Catholic priest who lived during the late 16th century. After studying at Cambridge, he returned to the Catholic faith and was ordained at Soissons in 1581. Following his ordination, he traveled to England to perform missionary work, which led to his arrest and imprisonment. He was eventually executed at Mile End in August 1588 for his priesthood. He is recognized as a martyr and was beatified by the Catholic Church in 1929.