Hans Kurath (13 December 1891 – 2 January 1992) was an American linguist of Austrian origin. He was full professor for English and Linguistics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The many varieties of regional English that he encountered during his trips convinced him of the necessity of completing a systematic study of American English. He was also the first main editor of the Middle English Dictionary. Together with Raven I. McDavid, Jr., he also published a linguistic atlas of the Eastern United States, The Pronunciation of English in the Atlantic States.