Chester Gould (November 20, 1900 – May 11, 1985) was a U.S. cartoonist and the creator of the Dick Tracy comic strip, which he wrote and drew from 1931 to 1977. Gould was known for his use of colorful, often monstrous, villains.

Chester Gould was born and raised in Pawnee, Oklahoma. In 1919, his family moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma where he attended Oklahoma A & M (now Oklahoma State University) and was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, until 1921. That year, he moved to Chicago where he transferred to Northwestern University. He graduated from Northwestern in 1923. Fascinated by the comics since childhood, Gould quickly found work as a cartoonist and was hired by the William Randolph Hearst's Chicago Evening American newspaper for whom he produced his first comic strips "Fillum Fables" beginning in 1924 and "The Radio Catts". He also produced a topical strip about Chicago, "Why It's a Windy City." Gould married Edna Gauger in 1926 and their daughter, Jean, was born in 1927.

In 1931, Gould was hired as a cartoonist with the Chicago Tribune and introduced the Dick Tracy cartoon. He drew the comic strip for the next 46 years from his home in Woodstock, Illinois. His work on the strip won him the Reuben Award for 1959 and 1977. He was also given a Special Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1980.