Elmer Hewitt Capen (April 5, 1838 – March 22, 1905) was the third president of Tufts College (now Tufts University), serving from 1875 to 1905. He was born in Stoughton, Massachusetts. Capen graduated from Tufts in 1860, and while there he was a founding member of the Kappa Charge of Theta Delta Chi. Also, in 1859, while still an undergraduate, he was elected to, and served in, the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He relinquished his seat after one term in order to finish his studies and graduate with his class. After his graduation from Tufts, he studied at Harvard Law School, practiced law for a short time, and then became a Universalist minister.