Alan MacGregor Cranston (June 19, 1914–December 31, 2000) was a U.S. journalist and politician. He was born in Palo Alto, California and attended Pomona College and the University of Mexico before graduating from Stanford University in 1936.

He was a correspondent for the International News Service for two years preceding World War II. When an abridged English-language translation of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf was released, sanitized to exclude some of Hitler's anti-semitism and militancy, Cranston published an abridged and annotated translation which he believed more accurately reflected the contents of the book. In 1934, Hitler sued him for copyright violation in the state of Connecticut; a judge ruled in Hitler's favour and publication of the book was halted.

Enlisting in the armed forces in 1944, he worked in the Office of War Information .

A Democrat, Cranston was elected California State Controller in 1958 and reelected in 1962. In 1968, he was elected to the United States Senate, where he served until 1993. He was Democratic Whip from 1977 to 1991 and an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination for the 1984 election.

He was reprimanded by the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics for "improper conduct" on November 20, 1991; branded as a member of the Keating Five in connection with the savings and loan scandals. He lived in Los Altos, California from his retirement until his death.

Preceded by: Thomas H. Kuchel	United States Senators from California	Succeeded by: Barbara Boxer
Preceded by: Robert C. Kirkwood	California State Controller	Succeeded by: Houston I. Flournoy