Robert Bowne Minturn was one of the most prominent American merchants and shippers of the mid-19th century. Today, he is probably best known as being one of the owners of the famous clipper ship, Flying Cloud.

John Bowne (1627–1695), the progenitor of the Bowne family in America, was a Quaker and an English immigrant residing in the Dutch colony of New Netherland. He is historically significant for his struggle for religious liberty.