Richard Alfred Rossiter (December 19, 1886 – January 26, 1977) was an American astronomer, known for the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect.

He taught mathematics at Wesleyan Seminary for five years before enrolling in the astronomy program at the University of Michigan.

[2] His doctoral dissertation, a study of the spectrum of Beta Lyrae, demonstrated that the shift that it exhibited could be accounted for by stellar rotation.

[2] In 1928 Rossiter became the first director of the Lamont–Hussey Observatory operated in South Africa by the University of Michigan.

His Catalogue of Southern Double Stars, published in 1955, was dedicated to W.  J. Hussey, one of the professors for whom the observatory was named.