William Gregory was born in Edinburgh in 1803, the son of James Gregory, Professor of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He graduated in medicine at Edinburgh in 1828 and undertook further study on the continent, including at the University of Giessen. Gregory lectured extramurally in chemistry in Edinburgh and later lectured in Glasgow and Dublin. In 1839 he was appointed Professor of Medicine and Chemistry at King's College, Aberdeen, and in 1844 became Chair of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh. He died in Edinburgh in 1858.
