Zachariah Allen (September 15, 1795 – March 17, 1882) was an American textile manufacturer, scientist, lawyer, writer, inventor and civil leader from Providence, Rhode Island.

[1] Allen became a textile manufacturer and, in 1822, constructed a woolen mill in which he incorporated innovative fire-safety features and his own mechanical improvements.

Allen's father died in 1801, when he was only five years old, so he was mostly raised by his mother, and acquired a love of knowledge, particularly science at an early age.

[6] Upon graduation from Brown, he briefly considered a career in medicine, but instead studied law for two years in the office of James Burrill, and was admitted to practice in the Rhode Island Courts in 1815.

The Allendale Mill was one of the earliest textile mills in the nation to incorporate so-called "slow-burning" construction, which consisted of a system of cast iron columns supporting large beams covered by heavy wooden planking for the floors and roof and shingles set in mortar, in contrast to the traditional system of lighter joists and thinner flooring.

Allen patented an "extension roller" for "raising fobrous naps by teasels" to produce a smooth, glossy finish to woolen cloth.

Allen studied the problem and in 1835 joined with several other mill owners to establish the Providence Manufacturers Mutual Fire Insurance Company, introducing a system of basing premiums on the effectiveness of safety equipment based on the nature of the business, adequacy of the apparatus and the safe methods of factory construction.

[12] Two years later, the Boston Manufacturers Mutual Insurance Company was founded by James Read and others, after consultation with Allen.

The modern descendant of Zachariah Allen's Mutual Fire Insurance Company, now known as FM Global maintains its headquarters in Johnston, Rhode Island, not far from the Allendale Mill.

In support of the working man, Allen was instrumental in the founding of the first free evening school in New England in 1840, and in the establishment of the Providence Association of Manufacturers and Mechanics.