Rufus Anderson was an American minister who spent several decades organizing overseas missions.

He worked at the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) as an assistant while studying at Andover. In 1822 he applied to go to India but was asked to remain at headquarters and later appointed assistant secretary. In 1832 he was given total responsibility for overseas work.

The ABCFM was the organization that sent out the early missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands (Sandwich Islands) over several decades resulting in the "Great Awakening" of the native population to an awareness of the Almighty God and His plan for their salvation. Thousands of native Hawaiians came to know the Lord through their work.

During Anderson's over 40 years with the ABCFM, he was intimately aware of the events and progress of the mission to the Hawaiian Islands.