John Barry Larson (born July 22, 1948), an American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1999, representing Connecticut's 1st congressional district, based in the state capital, Hartford. He is the current chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, the fourth-ranking position among House Democrats.

Larson was born in Hartford, but has spent most of his life in nearby East Hartford. He grew up in a public housing project. He was educated at East Hartford High School and Central Connecticut State University. He worked as a high school history teacher and an assistant athletics coach at George J. Penney High School (later Penney High merged with East Hartford High School). Larson was also the co-owner of an insurance agency in East Hartford before entering public service. In 1971, he was selected as a Senior Fellow to the Yale University Bush Center in Child Development and Social Policy by Head Start founder Edward Zigler.

Larson began his political career in 1977, when he served one term on the East Hartford Board of Education. He then served two terms on the East Hartford Town Council. In 1982, he was elected to the Connecticut Senate from the 3rd district, based in East Hartford. He served six terms in that body, the last four as president pro tempore. In 1994, Larson left the state senate and sought the Democratic nomination for Governor of Connecticut but was defeated by Bill Curry in the primary.