John Kurtz Maxtone-Graham (August 2, 1929 – July 6, 2015) was a Scottish-American speaker and writer on ocean liners and maritime history.

Maxtone-Graham was born in Orange, New Jersey, to a Scottish father and an American mother.

He served in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War and then worked as a Broadway stage manager.

[1] In 1972 he wrote a social history and appreciation of the Atlantic express liners, The Only Way to Cross, which was a success as a mass-market publication.

John Maxtone-Graham died from respiratory failure in Manhattan on July 6, 2015, aged 85.