Joel Henry Silbey (August 16, 1933 – August 7, 2018) was an American historian.

Joel H. Silbey was born on August 16, 1933, to parents Sidney R. and Estelle Silbey. He attended Brooklyn College in his hometown, graduating in 1955, before pursuing graduate study at the University of Iowa, earning his master's and doctoral degrees in 1956 and 1963, respectively. He taught at San Francisco State College, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Maryland before joining the Cornell University faculty in 1966. Two years later, Silbey became a full professor and received a Guggenheim Fellowship. He was appointed President White Professor of History in 1986, serving until retirement in 2002. He died at the age of 84 on August 7, 2018.^[1][2]