Dean Benjamin McLaughlin (* October 25, 1901, Brooklyn, Queens, NY, USA; ? December 8, 1965, Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, MI, USA) was an American astronomer. He was a professor of astronomy at the University of Michigan. He was the father of the science fiction author Dean B. McLaughlin, Jr.

In 1954 he proposed the theory that there are volcanoes on Mars and that their eruptions change the albedo features called "mare" (The martian equivalent of Lunar mare). Today we know that there are indeed (most likely currently inactive) volcanoes on Mars, however they are not the cause for any changes on its surface.

A crater on Mars was named in his honor, as was a crater on the back side of the moon.

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