Rulers and heads of state

• Richard, Duke of Burgundy (858–921)
• Richard I of Normandy (933–996), Duke of Normandy
• Richard II, Duke of Normandy (died 1026), son of Richard I of Normandy
• Richard I of Capua (died 1078), King of Capua and Count of Aversa
• Richard I of England or Richard the Lionheart (1157–1199)
• Richard of Cornwall (1209–1272), 1st Earl of Cornwall, elected King of Germany
• Richard II of England (1367–1400)
• Richard III of England (1452–1485)
• Richard Cromwell (1626–1712), son and successor of Oliver Cromwell, Protector of England

Aristocrats and non-ruling royals

• Richard, Count of Évreux (died 1067), a Norman aristocrat
• Richard, Count of Molise (died c. 1170), a Norman nobleman
• Richard, Count of Acerra (died 1196), an Italo-Norman nobleman
• Richard fitz Gilbert (before 1035 – c. 1090), Norman lord involved in the conquest of England
• Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester (1222–1262)
• Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge
• Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster (1259–1326)
• Richard Orsini (died 1304), Count Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos, Count of Gravina, Bailli of Achaea
• Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury (1400–1460), Yorkist leader in the Wars of the Roses
• Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York (1411–1460), a principal participant in the Wars of the Roses
• Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury
• Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (1428–1471), wealthy English magnate and major protagonist in the Wars of the Roses
• Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York (1473 – c. 1483), who would have been King Richard IV of England if he had lived
• Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington (1694–1753), instrumental in the revival of Palladian architecture
• Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos
• Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (1797–1861), noted for squandering his great wealth
• Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (1823–1889), British soldier, politician and administrator
• Prince Richard von Metternich (1829–1895), Austrian diplomat
• Richard, 4th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1882–1925), in present-day Germany
• Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1934–2017), German-Swedish aristocrat and landowner, husband of Princess Benedikte of Denmark
• Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (born 1944), British royal

Religious figures

• Richard (Dean of Armagh), early 13th century Dean of Armagh, Ireland
• Richard (first abbot of Fountains) (died 1139), an English Benedictine and Cistercian
• Richard (II), bishop of Bayeux (early 12th century), France
• Richard (III), bishop of Bayeux (12th century), France
• Richard (bishop of the Isles), late 13th century Bishop of the Isles, Scotland* Saint Richard (disambiguation), several saints
• Richard Baxter (1615–1691), English Puritan church leader, poet and hymn-writer
• Richard of Dover (died 1184), Benedictine monk and Archbishop of Canterbury
• Richard Foxe (c. 1448 – 1528), Bishop of Exeter, Bath and Wells, Durham, and Winchester, Lord Privy Seal, and founder of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
• Richard Furman (1755–1825), American Baptist leader, first president of the Triennial Convention, the first nationwide Baptist association
• Richard von Greiffenklau zu Vollrads (1467–1531), Archbishop-Elector of Trier from 1511 to 1531
• Richard of Poitiers (died c. 1174), French monk, author of historical works, treatises and poems
• Richard Poore (died 1237), Bishop of Salisbury and Durham, who helped found Salisbury Cathedral in its present location
• Richard Swinefield (died 1317), Bishop of Hereford

In politics and government

• Richard Acland (1906–1990), one of the founders of the British Common Wealth Party and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
• Richard B. Adkisson (1932–2011), chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court
• Richard Aluwihare (1895–1976), Sri Lankan diplomat
• Dick Armey (born 1940), American politician, member US House of Representatives from Texas (1985–2003)
• Richard Armitage (politician) (born 1945), American government official, Deputy Secretary of State (2001–2005)
• Richard Arrington Jr. (born 1934), first African-American mayor of the city of Birmingham, Alabama
• R. B. Bennett (1870–1947), Canadian politician, Prime Minister of Canada (1930–1935)
• Richard Blumenthal (born 1946), American politician, US Senator from Connecticut (2010–present)
• Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington (1612–1698), Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and a cavalier
• Richard Leslie Brohier (1892–1980), Sri Lankan Burgher land surveyor and author
• Richard Burr (born 1955), American politician, US Senator from North Carolina (2005–present)
• Dick Cheney (born 1941), American politician, Congressman from Wyoming (1979–1989), Secretary of Defense (1989–1993) and Vice President (2001–2009)
• Dick Clark (senator) (1928–2023), American politician, US Senator from Iowa (1973–1979)
• Richard Court (born 1947), Australian politician, Premier of Western Australia (1993–2001)
• Richard J. Daley (1902–1976), American politician, Mayor of Chicago (1955–1976)
• Richard M. Daley (born 1942), American politician, Illinois state senator (1972–1980) and Mayor of Chicago (1989–2011)
• Richard Dallam (1865–1939), American politician, Secretary State of Maryland (1896–1899)
• Richard Darman (1943–2008), American politician, White House Staff Secretary (1981–1985), Deputy Secretary of the Treasury (1985–1987) and OMB Director (1989–1993)
• Dick Durbin (born 1944), American politician, US senator from Illinois (1997–present), Democratic Senate Whip (2005–present)
• Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple (1711–1779), British politician and associate and brother-in-law of William Pitt
• Richard J. Gordon (born 1945) Filipino politician and broadcaster
• Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane, British nobleman and politician
• Richard Hatfield (1931–1991), Canadian politician, Premier of New Brunswick (1970–1987)
• Richard Helms (1913–2002), American government official, Director of Central Intelligence (1966–1973), US Ambassador to Iran (1973–1977)
• Junius Richard Jayewardene (1906–1996), President of Sri Lanka from 1978 to 1989
• Richard Johnson (judge) (1937–2019), Irish jurist, President of the Irish High Court (2006–2009)
• Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh (1641–1712), Irish peer, and politician both in the Parliaments of England and Ireland
• Richard Charles Kannangara (1920-1946), Sri Lankan Sinhala representative in the State Council of Ceylon for Morawaka
• Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744–1817) Anglo-Irish politician, writer and inventor
• Richard Lugar (1932–2019), American politician, US Senator from Indiana (1977–2011)
• Richard Mentor Johnson (1780–1850), American politician, US Congressman from Kentucky (1807–19 and 1829–33), US Senator from Kentucky (1819–1829) and Vice President (1837–41)
• Richard Morefield (1929–2010), American diplomat
• Dick Murphy, (born 1942) American politician who served as the 33rd Mayor of San Diego, California
• Richard L. Murphy (1875–1936), Democratic US Senator from Iowa
• Richard W. Murphy (born 1929), American diplomat and career member of the foreign service
• Richard Nixon (1913–1994), American politician, President of the United States (1969–1974) and Vice President (1953–1961)
• Richard Pathirana (1938-2008), Sri Lankan Sinhala politician and educationist
• Richard Pelpola (1898-1971), Sri Lankan Sinhala politician, Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka
• Richard Perle (born 1941), American government official and foreign policy specialist, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs 1981–1987
• Richard F. Pettigrew (1848–1926), American lawyer, surveyor, and land developer
• Richard Abusua-Yedom Quarshie, Ghanaian businessman and diplomat
• Richard Rush (1780–1859), American politician, US Attorney General (1814–1817) and Secretary of the Treasury (1825–1829)
• Richard "Rick" Santorum, American politician, attorney and political commentator
• Rick Scott (born 1952), American politician, US Senator from Florida (2019–present), Governor of Florida (2011–2019)
• Richard Seddon (1845–1906), New Zealand politician, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1893–1906)
• Richard Gotabhaya Senanayake (1911-1970), Sri Lankan Sinhala Cabinet Minister
• Richard Shelby (born 1934), American politician, US Senator from Alabama (1987–present)
• Richard Stockton (U.S. senator) (1764–1828), American politician, US Senator from New Jersey (1796–1799), Member of the US House of Representatives (1813–1815)
• Dick Thornburgh (1932–2020), American politician, Governor of Pennsylvania (1979–1987) and US Attorney General (1988–1991)
• Richard Tötterman (1926–2020), Finnish diplomat
• Richard Udugama, (1911–1995), major general, Commander of the Sri Lanka Army from 1964 to 1966, politician
• Richard von Weizsäcker (1920–2015), German politician, Governing Mayor of West Berlin (1981–1984) and President of the Federal Republic of Germany (1984–1994)
• Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley (1760–1842), Anglo-Irish Governor-General of India, Foreign Secretary in the British Cabinet and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
• Richard C. Wilbur (1936–2020), judge of the United States Tax Court
• Richard Wild (judge) (1912–1978), New Zealand jurist, Chief Justice of New Zealand (1966–1978)

In business

• Richard L. Bloch (1929–2018), American investor, real estate developer, banker, and philanthropist
• Richard Branson (born 1950), British businessman and founder of the Virgin Group of companies
• Richard Deeb (1924–1990), real estate developer
• Richard DeVos (1926–2018), American businessman and co-founder of Amway
• Richard Jacobs (businessman) (1925–2009), real estate businessman and owner of the Cleveland Indians baseball team
• Richard Morefield (1929–2010), American diplomat
• Richard Oetker (born 1951), German businessman, CEO of Dr. Oetker since 2010
• Richard Rawlings (born 1969), star of American television show Fast N' Loud, owner of Gas Monkey garage, Gas Monkey Bar N' Grill and Gas Monkey Live
• Richard Warren Sears (1863–1914), co-founder of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and considered a promotional genius
• Richard Velazquez (born 1973), PepsiCo executive and first automotive designer at Porsche AG (Germany) of Puerto Rican descent
• Richard Wilding, British businessman and academic

In music

Singers and musicians

• Richard "Big Daddy Ritch" Anderson, lead vocalist for American red dirt metal band Texas Hippie Coalition
• Richard Ashcroft (born 1971), former singer with The Verve
• Rick Astley (born 1966), English singer best known for his 1987 song "Never Gonna Give You Up", which became an internet meme known as Rickrolling
• Ritchie Blackmore (born 1945), lead guitarist of Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blackmore's Night
• Richard Butler (singer) (born 1956), lead singer of the Psychedelic Furs
• Richard Carpenter (musician) (born 1946), one half of The Carpenters
• Rick Chertoff, American music producer
• Rick Danko (1943–1999), bassist and singer for The Band
• Richard Sulogowski (born 1955), American heavy metal bassist known as Rik Fox
• Richie Havens (1941-2013), American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• Richard Henshall (born 1984), main composer, guitarist and keyboardist of Haken
• Richard Kruspe (born 1967), lead guitarist of Rammstein
• Richard Manuel (1943–1986), pianist and vocalist of The Band
• Richard Marx (born 1963), American singer-songwriter
• Richard Lewis (tenor) (1914–1990), British tenor
• Richard McCracken (born 1948), bassist with Irish rock group 'Taste'
• Richard Patrick (born 1968), lead singer and guitarist of Filter
• Richard Wayne Penniman (1932–2020), birth name of Little Richard, American rock and roll singer
• Rich Perry, American jazz tenor saxophonist
• Richard Starkey (born 1940), birth name of Ringo Starr, drummer of The Beatles
• Richard Tauber (1891–1948), Austrian tenor
• Richard Thompson (musician) (born 1949), singer, songwriter and guitarist
• Richard Thurston (born 1973), American musician
• Ritchie Valens (1941–1959), singer, songwriter and guitarist
• Richard Wright (musician) (1943–2008), keyboard player for Pink Floyd
• Richard "Richie" Giese, known as Social Repose, American singer-songwriter and YouTube personality
• Wiley (musician), full name Richard "Wiley" Cowie (born 1979), pioneer of grime music

Actors

• Richard Dean Anderson (born 1950), American actor
• Richard Armitage (actor) (born 1971), English actor
• Richard Attenborough (1923–2014), English actor, director, producer and entrepreneur
• Richard Ayoade (born 1977), English comedian, actor, writer and director
• Richard Belzer (1944-2023), American actor, author, and stand-up comedian
• Richard Beymer (born 1938), American actor, filmmaker and artist
• Richard Biggs (1960–2004), American television and stage actor
• Richard Boone (1917-1981), American actor
• Richard Brake (born 1964), Welsh-American actor
• Richard Burbage (1568–1619), English actor and theatre owner
• Richard Burton (1925–1984), Welsh actor
• Dick Cavett (born 1936), American television talk show host
• Richard Chamberlain (born 1934), American actor
• Dick Clark (1929–2012) was an American radio and television personality
• Richard Curtis (born 1956), British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director
• Richard Dreyfuss (born 1947), American actor
• Richard Dysart (1929–2015), American actor
• Richard Fleeshman (born 1989), English actor and singer
• Richard Franklin (actor), (1936–2023), English actor, writer, director and political activist
• Richard Gere (born 1949), American actor
• Richard Gomez (born 1966), Filipino athlete, television presenter, actor, director and politician
• Richard E. Grant (born 1957), English actor
• Richard Grieco (born 1965), American actor
• Richard Gutierrez (born 1984), Filipino actor
• Richard Harris (1930–2002), Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer
• Richard Heffer (born 1946), British television and film actor
• Richard Steven Horvitz (born 1966), American actor and comedian
• Richard Jaeckel (1926–1997), American actor
• Richard Kiel (1939–2014), American actor
• Richard Kind (born 1956), American actor
• Richard Libertini, American actor
• Richard Madden (born 1986), Scottish actor
• Cheech Marin (Richard Anthony Marin, born 1946), American actor and comedian, known for the comedy duo Cheech & Chong
• Richard Pryor (1940–2005) an American stand-up comedian and actor
• Richard Roundtree (1942–2023), American actor
• Richard Roxburgh (born 1962), Australian actor
• Richard Schulefand (1923–1987), American actor and comedian professionally known as Dick Shawn
• Peter Sellers (1925–1980), British actor born Richard Henry Sellers
• Richard Herbert Seneviratne (1925-1998), Sri Lankan Sinhala actor and filmmaker
• Richard Simmons (actor) (1913–2003), American actor
• Richard Simmons (born 1948), American fitness personality and actor
• Richard Speight, Jr. (born 1970), American actor
• Richard Thomas (actor) (born 1951), American actor
• Richard Todd (1919–2009), Irish-born English actor
• Dick Van Dyke (born 1925), American actor, comedian, writer and producer
• Richard Widmark (1914-2008), American actor
• Richard Yap (born 1967), Filipino actor, singer, and model

In film and television

• Richard Donner (1930–2021), American film director and producer
• Richard Edlund (born 1940), American special effects cinematographer
• Richard Hatch (actor) (1945–2017), American actor, writer and producer
• Richard Hatch (Survivor contestant) (born 1961), American television personality, winner of Survivor: Borneo
• Richard Hammond (born 1969), British television presenter
• Richard Hunt (puppeteer) (1951–1992), American puppeteer who performed a number of the Muppets
• Richard Juan (born 1992), Hong Kong model and television host based in the Philippines
• Richard Lester (born 1932), American film director based in the UK
• Richard Linklater (born 1960), Texas filmmaker
• Richard Osman (born 1970), British television presenter and author
• Rich Vos (born 1957), American comedian
• Richard Whiteley (1943–2005), British television personality and journalist
• Richard Whitley (born 1948), American screenwriter and producer
• Richard Williams (animator) (1933–2019), Canadian-British animator
• Richard D. Zanuck (1934–2012), American film producer
• Richard Wenk, director and screenwriter of multiple films including Vamp (1986)

Explorers

• Richard R. Arnold (born 1963), American astronaut
• Richard Francis Burton (1821–1890), British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat
• Richard E. Byrd (1888–1957), US Navy rear admiral, aviator and explorer
• Richard Masters (aka William Marsters), English sailor, cooper, trader and explorer
• Dick Rutkowski, diving medicine pioneer

Scientists

• Richard Lee Armstrong (1937–1991), American-Canadian geologist
• Richard Dawkins (born 1941), English ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author
• Richard Feynman (1918–1988), American Nobel Prize-winning physicist
• Richard Hall (archaeologist) (1949–2011), English archaeologist
• Richard D. Hansen, American archaeologist
• Richard D. James (scientist) (born 1952), American mechanician and materials scientist
• Richard Klophaus (born 1965), German economist
• Richard von Krafft-Ebing (1840–1902), Austro-German baron, psychiatrist and author of the foundational work Psychopathia Sexualis.
• Richard Lauwaars (born 1940), Dutch law professor and judge
• Richard Leakey (1944–2022), politician, paleoanthropologist and conservationist
• Richard Pringle, American psychologist and professor
• Richard Beck (scholar) (1897–1980), American literary historian
• Richard von Mises (1883–1953), Austrian-American scientist and mathematician
• Richard Bruce Paris (1946–2022), British mathematician
• Richard F. Post (1918–2015), American physicist
• Richard Smalley (1943–2005), American chemist
• Richard Swedberg (born 1948), Swedish sociologist at Cornell University

In sports

• Dick Attlesey (1929–1984), American hurdler
• Dick Ault (1925–2007), American Olympian
• Rink Babka (1936–2022), American discus thrower
• Dick Barber (1910–1983), American long jumper
• Richard Bleier (born 1987), major league baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles
• Dick Butkus (1942–2023), American footballer and actor
• Richard Chelimo (1972–2001), Kenyan long-distance runner
• Richard Childress (born 1945), NASCAR Cup Series team owner and former American race car driver
• Dick Davis (running back) (born 1946), American football player
• Dick Davis (defensive end) (1938–2021), American football player
• Richard Fellers (born 1959), American Olympic equestrian
• Dick Fencl (1910–1972), American football player
• Richard Fliehr (born 1949), American professional wrestler known as Ric Flair
• Richard Freitag (born 1991), German ski jumper
• Richard Gasquet (born 1986), French tennis player
• Richard Giachetti, former NASCAR Cup Series team owner
• Richard Gleeson, (born 1987) an English cricketer
• Sir Richard Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer
• Rick Hansen (born 1957), Canadian paraplegic athlete, activist and philanthropist
• Rickey Henderson (born 1958), American baseball left fielder
• Rich Houston (1945–1982), American football player
• Richard Howell (born 1990), American-Israeli basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Richard Jacob (born 1958), American basketball coach
• Richard Jarvis (American football) (born 1995), American football player
• Richard Johansson (1882–1952), Swedish figure skater, silver medalist at the 1908 Olympics
• Dick Johnson (racing driver) (born 1945), Australian touring car driver & team owner
• Richard Jordan (American football) (born 1972), American football player
• Richard Kilty (born 1989), English sprinter
• Richard Kingi (born 1989), Australian-New Zealand rugby union player
• Richard Krajicek (born 1971), Dutch professional tennis player, Wimbledon winner in 1996
• Rick Lackman (1910–1990), American football player
• Richard Limo (born 1980), Kenyan long-distance runner
• Richard Mateelong (born 1983), Kenyan runner
• Richard Medlin (born 1987), American football player
• Richard Moguena (born 1986), Chadian basketball player
• Richard Mullaney (born 1993), American football player
• Richard Nerurkar (born 1964), British long-distance runner
• Richard Newland (cricketer) (1713–1778), English cricketer
• Richard Ord (born 1970), English former footballer
• Dick Pound (born 1942), Canadian swimmer, first president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, and former vice-president of the International Olympic Committee
• Richard Petruška (born 1969), Slovak-Italian basketball player
• Richard Petty (born 1937), former NASCAR driver
• Richard Raskind, changed name to Renée Richards (born 1934), tennis player
• Dick Savitt (1927–2023), American tennis player
• Richard Sears (tennis) (1861–1943), winner of seven consecutive US tennis championships
• Richard Sherman (American football) (born 1988), defensive back for the Seattle Seahawks
• Richard Sosa (born 1972), Uruguayan footballer
• Dick Stanfel (1927–2015), American football player
• Rich Stotter (1945–2015), American football player
• Dick Schweidler (1914–2010), American football player
• Richard Swann (born 1991), American professional wrestler
• Dick Tayler (born 1948), New Zealand long-distance runner
• Richard Thompson (sprinter) (born 1985), Trinidadian sprinter
• Richard Todd (American football) (born 1953), American football player in the NFL
• Richard Virenque (born 1969), French cyclist
• Richard Washington (born 1955), American basketball player
• Richárd Weisz (1879–1945), Hungarian Olympic champion Greco-Roman wrestler
• Richie Williams (basketball) (born 1987), American basketball player
• Richard Williams (tennis coach) (born 1942), American tennis coach, the father of Venus and Serena Williams
• Richard Witschge (born 1969), Dutch footballer
• Richard (footballer, born 1991), Richard de Oliveira Costa, Brazilian football goalkeeper
• Richard (footballer, born 1994), Richard Candido Coelho, Brazilian football defensive midfielder
• Richard (footballer, born 1999), Richard Alexandre Birkheun Rodrigues, Brazilian football winger
• Richard (footballer, born 2003), Richard dos Santos de Almeida, Brazilian football left back

Soldiers, pilots, other military/security

• Richard Baer (1911–1963), German Nazi SS concentration camp commandant
• Richard von Conta, German general, notable for his participation in the Battle of Belleau Wood
• Richard F. Gordon Jr. (1929–2017), American naval officer and aviator, chemist, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, and an American football executive
• Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel (c. 1306–1376), English military leader
• Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel (1346–1397), English military commander
• Richard G. Graves, retired lieutenant general in the United States Army, commander of III Corps and Fort Hood
• Richard H. Truly (born 1937), US Navy fighter pilot, engineer, former astronaut for both the US Air Force and NASA, and NASA's Administrator
• Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe (1726–1799), British naval commander in the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars
• Rick Husband (1957–2003), American astronaut and fighter pilot
• Richard M. Linnehan (born 1957), United States Army veterinarian and a NASA astronaut
• Richard Marcinko (1940–2021), US Navy SEAL commander and Vietnam War veteran
• Richard Michael Mullane (born 1945), engineer and aircraft pilot, a retired USAF officer
• Richard Myers (born 1942), US Air Force general, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2000–2001) and Chairman (2001–2005)
• Richard N. Richards (born 1946), retired American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, chemical engineer, and a former NASA astronaut
• Richard Ruoff, general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany
• Richard O'Connor (1889–1981), British Army officer and military commander
• Richard O. Covey (born 1946), United States Air Force officer and former NASA astronaut
• Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers (c. 1660 – 1712), soldier and noted rake
• Dick Scobee (1939–1986), American pilot, engineer and astronaut, killed while commanding the Space Shuttle Challenger
• Richard A. Searfoss (1956–2018), American aviator who was United States Air Force colonel, NASA astronaut and test pilot
• Richard Sorge (1895–1944), Soviet World War II spy
• Richard Taylor (Confederate general) (1826–1879), American Civil War Confederate general
• Richard Thomalla (1903–1945), SS commander of Nazi Germany, civil engineer, head of the SS Central Building Administration
• Richard Udugama (1911–1995), 6th Commander of the Sri Lanka Army
• Richard von Hegener (1905–1981), German official, primary organizer of Action T4 Nazi euthanasia program
• Richard Winters (1918–2011), US Army major and Second World War veteran
• Richard von Schubert, German army commander

Writers and journalists

• Richard Adams (1920–2016), English author, best known for the novel Watership Down
• Richard Argall (fl. 1621), a poet, of whom little is known and whose existence is disputed
• Richard Armstrong (author) (1903–1986), English author, recipient of the 1948 Carnegie medal for children's literature
• Richard Engel (born 1973), American journalist and author
• Richard Herrmann (journalist) (1919–2010), Norwegian journalist, writer and radio personality
• Richard Scarry (1919–1994), American children's author and illustrator, known for his "Busytown" fictional universe and multimedia franchise
• Richard Wright (author) (1908–1960), novelist, poet, essayist, short story writer
• Richard de Zoysa (1958–1990), Sri Lankan journalist, author, human rights activist and actor who was abducted and murdered
• Rick Riordan (born 1964), American author, creator of the series Percy Jackson & the Olympians
• Richard Yates (1926–1992) American novelist and short story writer

Crime

• Richard Angelo (born 1962), American serial killer and former nurse
• Richard H. Barter (1833–1859), Canadian fugitive and murder victim
• Richard Baumhammers (born 1965), American former immigration attorney and spree killer
• Richard Biegenwald (1940–2008), American serial killer
• Richard Michael Cartwright (1974–2005), American murderer
• Richard Chase (1950–1980), American cannibalistic serial killer, mass murderer, and necrophile
• Richard Clarey (born 1960), German-American murderer and self-confessed serial killer
• Richard Cooey (1967–2008), American murderer
• Richard Cottingham (born 1946), American serial killer
• Richard Allen Davis (born 1954), American career criminal and convicted killer of Polly Klaas'
• Richard Djerf (born 1969), American mass murderer
• Richard Evonitz (1963–2002), American serial killer, kidnapper, and rapist
• Richard Farley (born 1948), American stalker and perpetrator of the Sunnyvale ESL shooting
• Richard Hauptmann (1899–1936), perpetrator of the Lindbergh kidnapping
• Richard Hickock (1931–1965), American mass murderer who killed the Clutter family with Perry Smith
• Richard James (1957–1975), convicted murderer in Singapore
• Richard "Ricky" Kasso Jr (1967–1984), American murderer
• Richard Kuklinski (1935–2006), American hitman and serial killer
• Richard Laurence Marquette (born 1934), American convicted serial killer
• Richard Matt (1966–2015), American convicted murderer and prison escapee
• Richard Ramirez (1960–2013), American serial killer, rapist, and burglar
• Richard Speck (1941–1991), American rapist and mass murderer

Other

• Richard R. Arnold (born 1963), American educator and a NASA astronaut
• Dick Assman (1934–2016), Canadian gas station owner
• Richard Avedon (1923–2004), American fashion and portrait photographer
• Richard Bergh (1858–1919), Swedish painter
• Richard Blackwell ("Mr. Blackwell", 1922–2008), American fashion critic best known for his annual "worst dressed" lists
• Richard Tyler Blevins (born 1991), American professional gamer, Mixer streamer and YouTube personality
• Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi (1894–1972), Austrian-Japanese count, founding president of the Paneuropean Union
• Richard Everitt (1979–1994), victim of the racially motivated Murder of Richard Everitt in London
• Richard Garriott (born 1961), British-American video game developer, entrepreneur and private astronaut
• Richard Gerstl (1883–1908), Austrian painter
• Richard Harris (anaesthetist), Australian anaesthetist and cave diver
• Richard Heber (1773–1833), English book-collector
• Richard Helms (naturalist) (1842–1914), Australian naturalist
• Richard Hieb (born 1955), former NASA astronaut and a veteran of three space shuttle missions
• Richard Ling (born 1954), Shaw Foundation professor of Media Technology at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
• Richard Lugner (born 1932), Austrian entrepreneur and Viennese society figure
• Richard Mastracchio (born 1960), American engineer and former NASA astronaut
• Richard Maury (1882–1950), American naturalized Argentine engineer
• Richard Murphy (Captain) (1838–1916), Gloucester, Massachusetts fishing schooner captain
• Richard Samuel (1770–1786), English portrait painter
• Dick Turpin (1705–1739), English Highwayman
• Richard von Volkmann (1830–1889), German surgeon and author of poetry and fiction
• Richard Wurmbrand, Romanian Evangelical Lutheran priest and professor

Fictional characters

• Richard, title character of the 2017 animated film Richard the Stork
• Richard, a character in 1989 American independent coming of age comedy movie She's Out of Control
• Richard, a character in the 2013 American black comedy crime film Life of Crime
• Richard, a character in the American Lego TV series, Unikitty!
• Richard Ashenden, main character in the 1936 Hitchcock film Secret Agent (1936 film)
• Richard Blaine, main character in the 1942 film Casablanca
• Richard Blaney, main character in the film Frenzy
• Richard Cobb, one of the main characters in the 1940 American horror science fiction film The Invisible Man Returns
• Richard Cole, a character in the film Liar Liar
• Richard Cole, a journalist in The Power Of Five Series, and Matthew Freeman's best friend and protector
• Dick Dastardly, a character from various Hanna-Barbera cartoons
• Rick Deckard, the title character in the film Blade Runner
• Richard Diamond, private detective protagonist of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, which aired on radio from 1949 to 1953, and on television from 1957 to 1960.
• Richard Fenton, in the 1994 miniseries, Scarlett (miniseries)
• Richard John "Dick" Grayson, the first Robin, Batman's sidekick
• Richard Hannay, main character in the novel The Thirty Nine Steps
• Richard Hillman, serial killer in the British soap opera Coronation Street
• Richard Kimble, lead character in 1963 American TV series The Fugitive
• Dr. Richard Kimble, as the main character played by Harrison Ford in the 1993 American action thriller movie The Fugitive
• Richard Mayhew, main character in the television series Neverwhere
• Richard Rank, a character in the 1997 American science fiction drama movie Contact
• Richie Rich (comics), main character of the Richie Rich series
• Richard Richard, one of the protagonists of British sitcom Bottom
• Richie Ryan (Highlander), one of the main characters on Highlander: The Series, played by Stan Kirsch
• Rick Sanchez, main character on Rick and Morty
• Richard Sharpe, main character in the Sharpe novel series, portrayed by Sean Bean in TV adaptations
• Richard Bluedhorn "Rick" or "Ricky" Stratton, the main character in the American TV sitcom Silver Spoons
• Richard Vincent, in the 2001 miniseries The SoulTaker, the father of the title character
• Richard Watterson, a character from the 2011 TV series The Amazing World of Gumball
• Richard Wheatley, a villain from the TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
• Prince Richard, a character in the 1992 Nintendo Game Boy game Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru