Richard John Evans (born 29 September 1947) is a British academic and historian, prominently known for his history of Germany.

Evans was born in London, of Welsh parentage, and is now Regius Professor of Modern History (Cambridge) at the University of Cambridge and President of Wolfson College. Evans applied for the distinguished Cambridge position, whereas his predecessors were chosen — marking a procedural change at Cambridge. Evans has also taught at the University of Stirling, University of East Anglia and Birkbeck College, London. Having been a Visiting Professor in History at Gresham College during 2008/09, he is now the Gresham Professor of Rhetoric.

He was educated at Forest School, Jesus College, Oxford (MA), and St Antony's College, Oxford (DPhil) and the University of East Anglia (LittD). In a 2004 interview, Evans stated that frequent visits to Wales during his childhood inspired both an interest in history and a sense of "otherness".

As an undergraduate, Evans was much influenced by the History Workshop school, which was in its founding phase at Oxford while he was studying there, and by the English Marxist historians. He was also influenced by E.H. Carr's What Is History?