List of people known as the father or mother of something

The following alphabetical lists includes men and women commonly known as the father or mother of something. Whether each of these persons is genuinely the father or mother of this thing is a matter of opinion.

W

• John Wanamaker - The father of the U.S. department store
• George Washington - The father of the United States of America
• Alice Waters - The mother of California cuisine and of American cooking
• John B. Watson - The father of behaviorism
• Isaac Watts - The father of English Hymnody
• Arthur Gordon Webster - The father of the American Physical Society
• Alfred Wegener - The father of plate tectonics / continental drift
• Norbert Wiener - The father of cybernetics
• Woodrow Wilson - The father of the League of Nations and of Internationalism
• Johann Winckelmann - The father of modern archaeology
• Sergius Witte - The grandfather of Russian industry
• Wright brothers - The fathers of aviation
• Wilhelm Wundt - The father of modern psychology