Jules Sylvain Zeller (23 April 1820 – 25 July 1900) was a French historian. Born in Paris, Zeller became professor of History at the Faculté de Lettres at Aix-en-Provence in 1854. He became teacher at the École normale supérieure in Paris and lecturer at the Académie de Paris at Sorbonne in 1858, professor at École polytechnique (after Victor Duruy) in 1863, and was 1876 appointed Inspector General over Higher Education. He was elected a Member of the Académie des Sciences morales et politiques (section d'Histoire) of the Institut de France in 1874 after Jules Michelet. He died in Paris.