Nathan Read (July 2, 1759 – January 20, 1849) was an American engineer and steam pioneer.

Nathan Read was the true inventor of the high-pressure steam engine in 1789, this was twelve years before the steam-engine was known to be used in the form of a high-pressure engine, and led a great revolution in steam power to navigation and land-transport.

Nathan Read was born in the town of Western (later renamed "Warren") in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, on July 2, 1759.

His father, Reuben Read, was an officer in the Revolutionary service and his mother's maiden name was Tamsin Meacham.

From October 1788, Nathan Read quit the last work and began to make a number of improvements of the steam engine.

To prove the usefulness of the high-pressure steam engine, Read made several models of steamcar and steamboat in 1790.

He also invented the chain-wheel for paddle wheels to propel the steamboat, and set up a shipbuilding factory with his friends in 1796.