William Yale was a tin ware merchant, politician, Justice of the Peace, and the largest manufacturer in Meriden, Connecticut. He was the oldest son of Revolutionary War patriot Samuel Yale Sr., founder of the Yale manufacturing dynasty of Connecticut. He also served in the Connecticut State House of Representatives from Meriden in 1825, and did business with the Griswolds. His entreprises were succeeded by his son, Gen. Edwin R. Yale, proprietor of the U.S. Hotel and Mansion House in New York.

Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven and Hartford. The city is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.