Obadiah Rich (November 25, 1777 – January 20, 1850) was an American diplomat, bibliophile and bibliographer specializing in the history of Latin America.
He was the son of Captain Obadiah Rich (1758–1805) who commanded the brig Intrepid in the American Revolutionary War and his first wife Salome Lombard (1761–1807).
[5] While in Spain, Rich compiled an extensive collection of ancient Spanish and Latin American books and manuscripts, and was part of the circle of Latin America historians and scholars that included George Ticknor, William H. Prescott, and Washington Irving, who researched his 1828 biography of Christopher Columbus while staying with Rich in Madrid.
A substantial portion were acquired by the American bibliophile James Lenox in 1848 who subsequently donated them to the New York Public Library in 1897.
Among his notable pieces is the only known copy of the first printing of Columbus's announcement of his discovery (Barcelona, 1493) and "The Brief and Most Concise Christian Doctrine in the Mexican Language" of Juan de Zumárraga, first bishop of Mexico.