Viscount Hambleden, of Hambleden in the County of Buckingham, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1891 for Emily Danvers Smith, in honour of her deceased husband, the businessman and Conservative politician William Henry Smith. Both their son, the second Viscount, and grandson, the third Viscount, were involved in the management of the family business, the stationer and retailer W H Smith.

William Henry Smith, FRS was an English bookseller and newsagent of the family firm W H Smith, who expanded the firm and introduced the practice of selling books and newspapers at railway stations. He was elected a Member of Parliament in 1868 and rose to the position of First Lord of the Admiralty less than ten years thereafter. Because of his lack of naval experience, he was perceived as a model for the character Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore. In the mid-1880s, he was twice Secretary of State for War, and later First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons, among other posts.