Stephen Latchford (February 4, 1883 – October 1, 1974) was a United States diplomat, lawyer and one of America's earliest experts in aviation law.

During the late 1930s and throughout the 1940s he had a major influence on the role of aviation in America and was a main contributor in the development of international air laws.

Latchford is best known for being one of the principal aviation experts during the administrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S Truman and for his extensive work in the American Section of the International Technical Committee of Aerial Legal Experts, commonly known as CITEJA (an abbreviation taken from the initials for its French name, Comité International Technique d'Experts Juridiques Aérien.)

In 1905 Latchford took the civil service examination and after passing it applied for a job at the Isthmian Canal Commission which he obtained.

On November 1, 1923, he was promoted to an Assistant Solicitor and six months later, on July 1, 1924, became a member of the State Department's Scientific and Professional Service.

With Latchford's appointment as a member of the American Section at the CITEJA, the U.S. adopted an ever-greater role in global aviation conferences and affairs in the years leading up to the Second World War.

Over the years, he worked with airline entrepreneur Juan Trippe, President and Founder of Pan American Airways, as the two collaborated to develop and create a code of practical and viable air laws.

Latchford was instrumental to the State Department efforts that propelled Pan American to become one of the world's most prominent airlines of the twentieth century, serving as chairman of U.S. delegations to CITEJA sessions and as U.S. representative at the United States-Canada Aviation Conference held at Washington, D.C. in 1938 and again in Ottawa in 1939.

It produced a number of resolutions that ultimately led to the unification of both aviation and maritime laws on key issues.

On March 18, 1943, with the war raging on, Latchford's authority at the State Department amplified as he was promoted to Grade 7 as a Head Professional and named 'Advisor of Air Law'.

The Chicago Convention furthermore led to the establishment of what would become the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations that exists to this day.

He, in particular, worked the legal angle, thus allowing for the shipment of American aid to devastated European nations after the defeat of Germany in 1945.

Latchford personally traveled to Paris to head the U.S. delegation to the meeting, the first time since he had been appointed Chairman of the CITEJA's American Section.