Christian Jakob Kraus (German pronunciation: [ˈkʁɪsti̯a(ː)n ˈjaːkɔp ˈkʁaʊs];^[1][2] 27 July 1753 – 25 August 1807) was a German comparative and historical linguist.

A native of Osterode (East Prussia), Kraus studied at the universities of Königsberg and Göttingen. In 1782 he became a professor of practical philosophy and cameralism in Königsberg. A student of Immanuel Kant, Kraus was famous for importing the ideas of Adam Smith into the German academic scene. He was also a librarian of the Königsberg Public Library from 1786 to 1804. Kraus encouraged the East Prussian officials and nobility to improve rural conditions in the province; some of his ideas were later adapted in the era of Prussian reforms. Kraus died in Königsberg in 1807.^[3]