Richard Beverly Cole (August 12, 1829 – January 15, 1901) was an American physician and past president of the American Medical Association (AMA). He was dean of the Toland Medical College during the time that it merged with the University of California system (it was later known as University of California, San Francisco). A surgeon and obstetrician-gynecologist, Cole was among the first to perform some of the newer surgical procedures of his era, such as the Caesarean section and ligation of the common carotid and femoral arteries.