Paul Henson Appleby (September 13, 1891 – October 21, 1963) was an American journalist, public servant, and educator.

He left Washington DC to work for the radio station KIRO, returned to Washington DC and left again, this time to become the dean of Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

He made several trips to India as a consultant with the Ford Foundation and in 1955 returned to political life by serving as Budget Director for the State of New York.

The family moved to Virginia in 1928 where Appleby again worked as a newspaper publisher until accepting a position with the U.S. government.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the them Prime Minister of India established the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) on March 29, 1954 based on the recommendations of a survey carried out in 1953 by Prof. Paul H. Appleby, Dean, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University and a Consultant with the Ford Foundation invited to advice on the subject, by the Government of India.