William Thirning

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William Thirning, who died in 1413, was an English judge. In 1377 he served as a commissioner of the peace in Northamptonshire and as a commissioner of Oyer and terminer in Bedfordshire. In 1380 he was a Justice of Assize for Yorkshire, Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland. He became a Serjeant-at-law in 1383, a King's Serjeant in 1388, and on 11 April 1388 he was appointed a justice of the Court of Common Pleas. He rose to Chief Justice on 15 January 1396.

Thirning helped remove King Richard II in 1399, obtaining the king's renunciation on 29 September and announcing it in Parliament on 30 September; he then personally told Richard the sentence on 1 October. He remained Chief Justice during Henry IV's reign and was reappointed by Henry V when he became king in 1413. He died soon after, with his successor appointed on 26 June 1413.