Gerard Brandt (25 July 1626 – 12 October 1685) was a Dutch preacher, playwright, poet, church historian, biographer and naval historian. A well-known writer in his own time, his works include a Life of Michiel de Ruyter (1687, Het Leven en bedryf van den Heere Michiel de Ruiter - an important source on the admiral's life) and a Historie der vermaerde zee- en koopstadt Enkhuisen (1666, Geschiedenis van Enkhuizen - still an important source for that city's early history).