Richard Hakluyt (1553 – November 23, 1616) is an English writer.
He is known for promoting the English colonization of North America through his works, notably Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America (1582) and The Principall Navigations, Voiages, Traffiques and Discoueries of the English Nation (1589–1600).
Hakluyt was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford.
Between 1583 and 1588 he is chaplain and secretary to Sir Edward Stafford, English ambassador at the French court.
An ordained priest, Hakluyt holds important positions at Bristol Cathedral and Westminster Abbey and is personal chaplain to Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, principal Secretary of State to Elizabeth I and James I.
He is the chief promoter of a petition to James I for letters patent to colonize Virginia, which are granted to the London Company and Plymouth Company (referred to collectively as the Virginia Company) in 1606
The Hakluyt Society, which publishes scholarly editions of primary records of voyages and travels, will be named after him in its 1846 formation.
