Philip May Hamer (November 10, 1891 – April 10, 1971) was an American archivist and historian, and served as the executive director of the National Historical Publications Commission from 1951 to 1961.

Hamer was born in Marion, South Carolina, in 1891 and demonstrated an early interest in historical studies.

He then pursued a Ph.D. in history at the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, which he completed in 1918 with a dissertation on South Carolina succession.

During his time at the National Archives he married fellow archivist Elizabeth Edwards in 1940.

He helped found the Southern Historical Association, and served as president of that organization in 1938.