Lieutenant General Knut Axel Ryding (28 August 1831 – 7 February 1897) was a Swedish Army officer.

Ryding was born on 28 August 1831 at Sandgärdet, near Vänersborg,[1] in Västra Tunhem socken, Älvsborg County.

Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the General Staff in 1873, he assumed the post of Chief of the Military Office of the Ministry of Land Defence in 1873.

[1] In this capacity, he presented to the Riksdag of 1883, that of the 1880 Land Defence Committee's (Lantförsvarskommittén), of which he was a member, large drafted proposal of a new army order; based on recruited regular troops and conscripts.

[1] Over the next few years, Ryding tried with great energy on the "partial path of reforms" provide at least some increase in Sweden's defence force, but most of the proposals for that purpose, which were presented to the Riksdag, were stopped against the thrift of the Andra kammaren's majority.