Etcher, painter, and teacher William Simmons was born in an artists' colony at Elche, Spain. His father, Edward Emerson Simmons, was a noted nineteenth century landscape and mural painter. William Simmons studied with Jules Joseph Lefevbre at the Académie Julian in Paris, with Thomas Alexander Harrison, and also with his father. He produced etchings, drypoints, and aquatints whose subject matter was primarily natural history. He was a member of several professional societies, and his works are held by numerous institutions, including the Smithsonian Institution. He died at Baltimore, Maryland.