John Dennis Phelan (March 23, 1809 – September 9, 1879) was an American editor, politician and jurist.

After he was succeeded at Attorney General by Lincoln Clark in 1838, he returned to the Legislature where he was elected Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives in 1839, serving in that role until 1840.

[3] He published two poems about Civil War, “Good Old Cause” and “Ye Men of Alabama.”[4] He became professor of law in the University of the South in 1869, holding the chair until his death.

[5] On April 16, 1835, he was married to Mary Anne Harris (1815–1870) in Limestone County, Alabama.

Together, they were the parents of:[7] After several months of ill health, Phelan died in Birmingham, Alabama on September 9, 1879.