Cyrus Colter (January 8, 1910 – April 15, 2002) was an American author. Trained as a lawyer and during an extended career in public service, he began writing short stories at aged 50. He joined the faculty at Northwestern University in the 1970s and became the first African American to occupy an endowed chair at the university. His short stories and novels often dealt with the lives of working and middle-class African Americans.