Donald James Cram (April 22, 1919–June 17, 2001) was an American chemist who shared the 1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Jean-Marie Lehn and Charles J. Pedersen "for their development and use of molecules with structure-specific interactions of high selectivity."

Cram attended the Winwood High School in Long Island, N.Y. From 1938 to 1941, he attended Rollins College, in Winter Park, Florida
In 1941, he graduated from Rollins College with a B.S. in Chemistry.
In 1942, he graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a M.S. in Organic Chemistry, with Norman O. Cromwell serving as his thesis adviser.
In 1947, Cram graduated from Harvard University with a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry, with Louis Fieser, serving as the adviser on his dissertation on "Syntheses and reactions of 2-(ketoalkyl)-3-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinones"
From 1942-1945, Cram worked in chemical research at Merck & Co laboratories, doing penicillin research with mentor Max Tishler.
Cram was named an assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1947, and a professor in 1955. He served there until 1987.
In 2001, Cram died of cancer at the age of 82.

Awards and honors

National Academy of Science Award in the Chemical Sciences
Saul Winstein Endowed Chair in Organic Chemistry
National Medal of Science, 1993
International Academy of Science, member
ACS Southern California Tolman Award, 1984
ACS Chicago Section Willard Gibbs Medal, 1985
ACS Cope Award for Distinguished Achievement in Organic Chemistry, 1974
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, member, 1967
American Chemical Society Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, 1965
National Academy of Sciences, member, 1961
1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry