Sir George Henry Richards KCB FRS (13 January 1820 – 14 November 1896) was Hydrographer of the Royal Navy from 1863 to 1874.

His eldest son, George Edward Richards also became a Royal Navy officer and hydrographic surveyor.

[1][2] At a time when the merchant navy was expanding rapidly and telegraphic underwater cable laying operations were intensifying,[3]: c. 1  the Admiralty had a great need for more accurate ocean charts.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in June 1866[4] and a corresponding member of the French Academy of Sciences in the same year.

Mount Richards in Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada is named in his honor.