Major John C. Cremony (1815 – August 24, 1879[2]) was an American soldier who wrote the first dictionary of the Apache language and later became a newspaperman in San Francisco.

[3] He enlisted in the Massachusetts Volunteers in 1846 at the onset of the Mexican–American War, and served as a Spanish-language interpreter and rose to the rank of lieutenant.

When the Boundary Commission returned to the East, Cremony remained in San Diego, California and sought his fortune as a miner and prospector.

[6] Cremony served most of his military career in the Southwest and personally knew Apache Chiefs Mangas Coloradas and Cochise.

[9][10] Cremony died of tuberculosis on August 24, 1879[2] and is buried at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park on the Laurel Hill Mound in San Francisco, California.