Frank Nelson Blanchard was an American herpetologist, and professor of zoology at the University of Michigan from which institution he received his Ph.D. He is credited with describing several new subspecies, including the broad-banded water snake, Nerodia fasciata confluens, and the Florida king snake, Lampropeltis getula floridana. Additionally, he has been honored by having reptiles and amphibians named after him, including the western smooth green snake, Opheodrys vernalis blanchardi, and Blanchard's cricket frog, Acris crepitans blanchardi.