Robert B. Stinnett was an American journalist and author. A veteran of World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1946, where he earned ten battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation.

After leaving the Navy, Stinnett worked as a journalist and photographer for the Oakland Tribune. In November 1982, he took the famous photograph of "The Play" during the last-second during the college football game between the Stanford Cardinal and California Golden Bears. He left the Tribune in 1986 to engage in the research that led to his 1999 book Day of Deceit.

Having served as a consultant on the Pacific War for the BBC and for Asahi and NHK Television in Japan, Stinnett passed away at the age of 94 on November 6, 2018.