Robert Burton "RB" Jones (January 31, 1920 – November 23, 2007) was a linguist whose research focused on the South East Asian languages, in particular Karen, Burmese and Thai. He was a professor at Cornell University. Jones studied music as an undergraduate at Southern Methodist University, particularly focusing on the organ. In 1941, he joined the United States Army for World War II and studied Japanese in the army. After the war he began he resumed his studies, this time at University of California, Berkeley, graduating 1947. Jones retired from Cornell in 1986.