James Osborne Putnam (July 4, 1818 – April 24, 1903) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

[1] He was educated at Middlebury Academy in Wyoming, New York, and attended Hamilton College through his Sophomore year.

He was a Conservative Whig, but opposed slavery in the United States territories and was the author of the Church Property Bill of 1855.

[1] In 1861, Putnam was appointed United States Consul at Havre, France by President Abraham Lincoln and held the position for the duration of the Civil War.

[1] In 1880, President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed Putnam as U.S. Minister to Belgium and held this position until 1882.