Frederick J. Bancroft (May 25, 1834 – January 17, 1903) was a surgeon during the Civil War before he settled in Colorado, where he was considered to be "one of the most prominent physicians", according to a San Francisco Chronicle obituary. In the late 1870s, he and the Denver Medical Association created the public health system for Denver, Colorado to improve the health of its citizens. In 1876, Bancroft was the first president of Colorado's State Board of Health. He became Colorado Medical Society president in 1880. Bancroft was a founder and professor of the University of Denver and Colorado Seminary Medical Department in 1881.