Donald Roy Howard (September 18, 1927 – March 2, 1987) was an American academic and author. During the 1950s to 1960s, Howard began his academic career as an instructor and associate professor. From the mid-1960s to mid 1980s, Howard primarily worked as an English professor for Johns Hopkins University and Stanford University. As an author between the 1960s and 1980s, Howard primarily focused his works on Geoffrey Chaucer. During this time period, Howard received a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship and the Guggenheim Fellowship twice. His posthumously published biography, Chaucer: His Life, His Works, His World, received the 1987 National Book Critics Circle Award in the biography/autobiography category.