William Archibald Cadell of Cockenzie (1708–1777) was a Scottish industrialist, one of the pioneers of the industrial revolution on the Firth of Forth. He was a member of a merchant family involved in the import of iron from Russia and Sweden.

He and his son, also William (baptised 1737, died 1819^[1]), were founders with Samuel Garbett and John Roebuck, of the Carron Iron Works,^[2] in 1759, originally known as Roebuck, Garbett & Cadells.

His daughter Christian Cadell married Thomas Edington (1742-1811) who became joint proprietor at Cramond Iron Works before establishing his own independent company in Glasgow in 1797: Thomas Edington & Son. Their grandson was the geologist Thomas Edington FRSE (1814-1859).^[3]

His great-great-grandson was the geologist Henry Cadell.^{[citation needed]}