Richard Olmsted (February 20, 1612 – April 20, 1687) was a founding settler of both Hartford and Norwalk, Connecticut.
It has long been claimed that he came to Boston along with his uncle James Olmsted aboard the ship Lyon in 1632.
Richard Olmstead is in the passenger list of the Lyon which sailed from Thames, England, on June 22, 1632 and arrived at Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony in America on September 16, 1632.
In 1661, he along with John Banks and Joseph Judson were appointed by the General Court to survey the town boundary between Fairfield and Stratford.
In 1675, at a meeting of the Council he was appointed to sign bills for the payment of soldiers in King Philip's War.