Robert Newton "Bob" Ford (January 31, 1862 – June 8, 1892) was an American outlaw who gained fame by killing the criminal Jesse James in 1882.

Robert Ford was born in Ray County, Missouri, to James Thomas Ford and his wife Mary Bruin. As a young man, he became an admirer of Jesse James for his war record and his daring career in crime. In 1880 he finally managed to meet James. Ford's brother Charles is believed to have taken part in the James gang's Blue Cut train robbery in Jackson County near Glendale, Missouri (now part of Independence, MO), on September 7, 1881.

In November 1881, James moved his family to St. Joseph, Missouri. He intended to give up crime, but first wanted to stage one last robbery at Blue Cut, Missouri. The James gang had been greatly reduced in number by that time. Some had fled the gang in fear of prosecution, and many of the original members were either dead or in prison after a botched robbery (the Northfield, Minnesota, raid) in Northfield, Minnesota. After the train robbery, Frank James decided to retire from crime by settling in Lynchburg, Virginia. By the spring of 1882, with his gang depleted by arrests, deaths, and defections, James thought that he could only trust the Ford brothers. Charley had been out on raids with James before, but Bob was an eager new recruit. The Fords resided in St. Joseph with the James family, where Jesse went by the alias of Thomas Howard. The Ford brothers passed themselves off as Bob and Charles Johnson, Howard's cousins. James often stayed with the Fords' sister Martha Bolton, and according to rumor he was "smitten" with her.