James Edward Ruffin (July 24, 1893 – April 9, 1977) was a U.S. Representative from Missouri. Born on a farm near Covington, Tennessee, Ruffin moved to Aurora, Missouri with his parents.He graduated from in 1912 and from Drury College (Drury University), Springfield, Missouri, in 1916. While in college he was a member of Phi Alpha Sigma, and later Lambda Chi Alpha.He taught school at Nickerson (Kansas) College in 1917, before being commissioned a first lieutenant on November 27, 1917. He served in the Fifty-third Regiment, Pioneer Infantry, overseas with the First and Thirty-fifth Divisions, and was discharged on June 3, 1919.