William Pinkney was an American statesman and diplomat, and was appointed the seventh U.S. Attorney General by President James Madison.

Edward Coote Pinkney was an American poet, lawyer, sailor, professor, and editor. Born in London in 1802 when his father was serving as ambassador to the Court of St. James, Pinkney returned with his family to the United States when he was eight. They returned to Maryland, where he was privately schooled.