William Elliot Griffis (September 17, 1843 - February 5, 1928) was a Congregational clergyman, lecturer, and prolific author from the United States. Griffis grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of a sea captain who eventually became a coal trader. After Robert E. Lee invaded Pennsylvania in 1863, he served as a corporal in Company H of the 44th Pennsylvania Militia for two months. Following the war, he attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he graduated in 1869. Griffis tutored Tar Kusakabe [ja], a young samurai from the province of Echizen (part of present Fukui), in English and Latin at Rutgers. After a year of travel in Europe, he attended the Reformed Church in America seminary in New Brunswick (now known as the New Brunswick Theological Seminary).
