Samuel Blatchford (August 1, 1767 – March 17, 1828) was the first president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

From his father's first marriage, he had an older half-brother, John Blatchford, "who was eminent for his piety."

[5] In 1805, he was appointed a trustee of Union College and later a member of the Board of Examiners.

Together, they were the parents of seventeen children, including:[3]: 63–65 Blatchford died in Lansingburgh on March 27, 1828.

[13] Through his son Richard, he was the grandfather of Samuel Blatchford (1820–1893), an attorney and judge who became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.