Benjamin Kendall Emerson (December 20, 1843 – April 7, 1932) was an American geologist and author.

Emerson attended Amherst College, where he joined the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity and from which he graduated in 1865 as valedictorian.

He returned to the United States where he joined the faculty at Amherst, where he was professor of geology and related sciences from 1872 to 1917 and simultaneously at Smith College from 1878 to 1912.

His chief field of study was the geology of western Massachusetts, the Connecticut River valley, and Rhode Island.

1887), and Caroline Dwight (1891-1973), who became a prolific author of over 20 children's books, including The Hat-Tub Tale, about the Bay of Fundy.