Gabriel Richard, French-born American Roman Catholic priest, missionary, educator, and politician (d. 1832)
Gabriel Richard (pronounced rish-ARD, 15 October 1767 – 13 September 1832) was a French Roman Catholic priest who ministered to the French Catholic at the Basilica of Sainte Anne de Détroit, as well as Protestant and Native American people living in what is now southeastern Michigan. He established schools, a library, and vocational training with weaving looms. After Detroit was nearly destroyed by a fire in 1805, he and others created a new layout for the city. His motto following the fire, Speramus meliora; resurget cineribus ("We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes") is inscribed on the Seal of the City of Detroit.

Richard helped negotiate the Treaty of Fort Meigs. He was co-founder of the Catholepistemiad of Michigania (which would later be renamed the University of Michigan). He was elected as a nonvoting delegate of the Michigan Territory to the U.S. House of Representatives for the 18th Congress and was the first Catholic priest to be elected to that body. The Fr. Gabriel Richard Guild was formed in 2020 as one of the first steps towards canonization of Richard.