Richard C. Kerens (1842–1916) was an American contractor and politician, born in Killberry, County Meath, Ireland, brought to the U. S. in infancy, and educated in the public schools of Jackson Co., Iowa. Throughout the Civil War he served in the Union army. After the war he lived in Arkansas and at San Diego, Cal., and was contractor for the Overland Mail. In 1876 he moved to St. Louis, Mo., and thereafter was interested in the construction of railroads and was active in the Republican politics of Missouri. In 1892 he became a member of the Republican National Committee. From 1909 to 1913 he was Ambassador to Austria-Hungary.