John Hanning Speke (May 4, 1827 – September 15, 1864) is an English explorer and officer in the British Indian Army who makes three exploratory expeditions to Africa.

He is most associated with the search for the source of the Nile and is the first European to reach Lake Victoria.

He is also known for propounding the Hamitic hypothesis in 1863, in which he supposes that the Wahuma ethnic group are descendants of the biblical figure Ham, and have lighter skin and more Hamitic features than the Bantu over whom they rule.