Royal Meeker (February 23, 1873 – August 16, 1953[1]) was a progressive American economist, born at Quaker Lake, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.

He knew Woodrow Wilson, then the president of Princeton, and they served together on New Jersey political boards.

[2] President Wilson appointed Meeker Commissioner of Labor Statistics in 1913.

[6] Meeker served as Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor and Industry from 1923–1924, and later joined the faculty of Carleton College (1926–1927) and Yale University (1930–1936, perhaps longer).

Meeker advocated progressive reforms, including a minimum wage, national health insurance,[8] child labor restrictions combined with strong, State-controlled schools, workmen's compensation, and a nationwide system of public employment offices.