Russell Baker was an American journalist and writer.

After leaving school, he took a scholarship to Johns Hopkins University in 1942, studying for a year before leaving to join the Navy as a trainee pilot. He left in 1945, continuing his degree in English at Johns Hopkins University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1947.

Baker wrote or edited seventeen books. Baker's first Pulitzer Prize was awarded to him for distinguished commentary for his nationally syndicated Observer columns, and the second one was for his autobiography, Growing Up; he is one of only six people to have been awarded a Pulitzer Prize for both Arts & Letters (for his autobiography) and Journalism (for his column).

In 1993, Baker replaced Alistair Cooke as the regular host of the PBS television series Masterpiece Theatre, and hosted the show until 2004.

Baker died January 21, 2019, in Leesburg, Virginia. He was 93.