Benjamin Franklin Gilbert (1841–1907), an American real estate developer, was the founder of Takoma Park, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C., and the city's first mayor.

[2]: 333  Gilbert later arrived in Washington, D.C., at the end of the Civil War and found work at the National Hotel as a clerk.

He later opened a luncheon establishment named The Temperance located between 9th and 10th Streets in the Northwest quadrant of the city.

Financial losses during the Panic of 1873 resulted in a move to Dunellen, New Jersey and the accumulation of a fortune in real estate.

He devoted a great deal more of his time and energy to persuading people with children to buy a lot and build a home in a pleasant place like Takoma Park than he did in trying to persuade wealthier people to invest their money in his subdivisions.