John Chandler Bancroft Davis, commonly known as Bancroft Davis (December 22, 1822–December 27, 1907) was an American lawyer and diplomat. He was also the ninth reporter of decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, serving from 1883 to 1902.
Davis was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of John Davis, a Whig governor of Massachusetts. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1847. In 1849, Davis became secretary of the American embassy in London and later its charge d'affairs . He practiced law in New York City and was the correspondent for the The Times in London. Because of ill health, he retired from the law in 1862, but in 1868 he was elected to the New York State Assembly. In 1874, he was appointed as the U.S. Minister to Germany, serving in that position until 1877.
Under President Ulysses S. Grant, he was Assistant Secretary of State and worked on settling the Alabama claims. He died in Washington, DC.
