Royal Samuel Copeland (November 7, 1868 – June 17, 1938) was an American academic, homeopathic physician, and politician. He held elected offices in both Michigan (as a Republican) and New York (as a Democrat), and served as a United States senator from New York from 1923 to 1938.

Born in Dexter, Michigan, to parents Roscoe P. Copeland and Frances J. Holmes, Royal Copeland graduated from Dexter High School in 1885 and attended Michigan State Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University). In 1888, he taught school in Sylvan Township, Michigan.

He graduated in 1889 from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with a degree in medicine. After graduate studies in Europe, Copeland practiced medicine in Bay City, Michigan, from 1890 to 1895. Copeland was admitted to the Homeopathy Society of Michigan on May 21, 1890, and was made secretary of the society in October 1893. He was a professor of Ophthalmology and Otology in the University of Michigan Medical School's Homeopathic Department from 1895 until 1908.

During his time as a medical professor in Ann Arbor, Copeland was active in municipal politics. A Republican, he served as mayor of Ann Arbor from 1901 to 1903. He was president of the Ann Arbor Board of Education from 1907 to 1908. He also served for several years as president of the Ann Arbor Board of Park Commissioners.

On July 15, 1908, Copeland married Frances Spalding. The same year, Copeland moved to New York City to take a position as dean at the New York Homeopathic Medical College and Flower Hospital. Copeland left his position as dean in 1918 in order to serve as President of the New York City Board of Health. He was appointed to this position by Mayor John Hylan in May 1918.

In September 28, Copeland acknowledged that the Spanish flu outbreak was seriously impacting the city, and possibly an epidemic. However, he decided to permit motion picture theaters to remain open. He considered closing the theaters to have little effect in reducing the epidemic as long as the crowded transportation lines continued to operate. Copeland also left the city's schools open, arguing it was better, "to have the children under the constant observation of qualified persons than to close the schools". New York City, Chicago and New Haven, Connecticut were the notable exceptions of most cities closing their own schools during the epidemic.

In December 1918, he amended the city health code to require that landlords maintain heat in apartments they rented. This had been a major issue in light of coal shortage earlier that year, numerous eviction cases around failure to provide heat, and the widespread 1918–1920 New York City rent strikes.

During the epidemic, Copeland organized a system of emergency health districts to provide localized care. If individuals who lived in apartments or private residences contracted the virus, they were quarantined and care was provided to them in their house. However, if individuals who lived in tenements or boarding houses contracted the virus, they were moved to city hospitals. Hospitals soon became overcrowded and Copeland then worked with New York's most famous public health nurse, Lillian Wald, to extend home care to the tenement neighborhoods as well.