Peter Benchley, American author and screenwriter (b. 1940)
Peter Bradford Benchley (May 8, 1940 – February 11, 2006) was an American author, screenwriter, and ocean activist. He is known for his bestselling novel Jaws and co-wrote its film adaptation with Carl Gottlieb. Several more of his works were also adapted for both cinema and television, including The Deep, The Island, Beast, and White Shark.

Later in life, Benchley expressed some regret for his tone in writing about sharks, which he felt indulged already present fear and false belief about sharks, and he became an advocate for marine conservation. Contrary to widespread belief, he did not express that he believed his writings contributed to shark depopulation nor is there evidence Jaws or other writings contributed to shark depopulations.