William Rudolf O'Donovan (March 28, 1844–1920) was a self-taught American sculptor, born in Preston County, Virginia. After the Civil War, in which he served in the Confederate army, he opened a studio in New York City and became a well-known sculptor, especially of memorial pieces. Among these are statues of George Washington (in Caracas), Lincoln and Grant (Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn), the captors of Major André (Tarrytown, New York) and located in Patriot's Park, and Archbishop Hughes (Fordham University, Fordham, N.Y.), and a memorial tablet to Bayard Taylor (Cornell University). In 1878 he become an associate of the National Academy of Design.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.