Franklin Carter (September 30, 1837 – November 22, 1919) was an American professor of Germanic and romance languages and served as President of Williams College from 1881 to 1901.

[2] He married Sarah Leavenworth Kingsbury on February 24, 1863, departing for Europe before assuming his appointment at Williams.

He took up teaching in 1865, becoming head of the Latin department in 1868 before becoming Professor of German at Yale College in 1873.

[3] He brought his friend John Haskell Hewitt to Williams, who became acting president upon Carter's retirement in 1901.

[4] He died on November 22, 1919, in Williamstown, Massachusetts and was interred at Riverside Cemetery in Waterbury, Connecticut.