William F. von Meister (February 21, 1942[1] – May 18, 1995) was an American entrepreneur who founded and participated in a number of startup ventures in the Washington, D.C., area. These included The Source, an early bulletin board system, and Control Video Corporation, a predecessor company to America Online.
His great-grandfather, Wilhelm Meister (1827–1895), founded the Teerfarbenfabrik Meister, Lucius & Co. in Germany, which later became Hoechst AG.
Bill von Meister died of cancer in Great Falls, Virginia, at the age of 53.[2]