William Edward Nairn (1812 – 9 July 1869) was an English-born politician in Australia, president of the Tasmanian Legislative Council. Born in Widcombe, Somerset, England, Nairn was the only son of Captain William Nairn and his wife Mary Ann. W. E. Nairn studied at Lincoln College, Oxford (B.A., 1833), and was granted a license to trade on a schooner his father had purchased for trade on the Tasmanian coast.