Benjamin Franklin Shambaugh (29 January 1871 in Elvira, Iowa - 7 April 1948 in Iowa City) was a US historian and political scientist. He was a professor at the State University of Iowa, later the University of Iowa, and served as president of the American Political Science Association (APSA) in 1929/30. Shambaugh graduated with a bachelor's degree from what was then the State University of Iowa in 1892 and with a master's degree a year later. In 1895, he received his Ph. D. from the University of Pennsylvania. This was followed by a year of study in Germany. In 1896 he returned to the State University of Iowa, where he worked as a lecturer and professor of political science until 1940.