Rip Van Dam (c. 1660 – 10 June 1749) was an American merchant and colonial administrator who served as the acting governor of New York from 1731 to 1732.

As one of the leaders of the republican liberal (or "country") party, Van Dam led confrontations against Governor William Cosby.

He was the son of Maria Bords and Claes Ripse Van Dam, a middle class local socialite who traded through his carpentry business and operated as a contractor.

In Albany, Van Dam was employed since his adolescence by Robert Story, a businessman of Manhattan, New York City, who was trading around.

That same year, Van Dam, and three other merchants, invested in a second trip under Captain John Browne, which resulted in a return to New York with 43 slaves.

In 1723, Van Dam, his son-in-law Walter Thong, and two others sent Alan Jarrett, captaining the Burnet to Africa to obtain slaves and sell them in Jamaica.

It was uncommon that a native of Albany became a member of the governor's council as it was an office which was usually reserved for prominent noble figures and wealthy New Yorkers.

As a councilman's rank was determined by the length of his tenure, eventually Van Dam reached the presidency of the council as the oldest member and, often, he represented the royal governor.

Disliking such liberal manoeuvres, Cosby decided that Van Dam should restore half of his salary of interim governor.

Van Dam was processed through a chancery court (with neither a jury nor a faithful following of the law texts) whereas his defence was taken by William Smith and James Alexander.