Russell Wayne Baker (August 14, 1925 – January 21, 2019) was an American journalist, narrator, and writer known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning satirical commentary and self-critical prose. He authored the Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography Growing Up (1983).

He was a columnist for The New York Times for 36 years and hosted eleven seasons of the PBS show Masterpiece Theatre. In 1994, the Forbes Media Guide Five Hundred stated: "Baker, thanks to his singular gift of treating serious, even tragic events and trends with gentle humor, has become an American institution."