Francis Ashbury Pratt (born February 15, 1827, Woodstock, Vermont, U.S.—died February 10, 1902, Hartford, Connecticut) was an American inventor. With Amos Whitney he founded the Pratt & Whitney Co. in Hartford to manufacture machine tools. Pratt was instrumental in bringing about the adoption of a standard system of gauges. He also invented a metal-planing machine (1869), a gear cutter (1884), and a milling machine (1885).