Alexander Bain (June 11, 1818 – September 18, 1903) was a Scottish philosopher and educationalist.

Alexander Bain (October 1811 – January 2, 1877), was a Scottish instrument inventor, technician, and clockmaker. He invented the electric clock, the electric printing telegraph, and the first facsimile machine (fax machine). Bain installed the railway telegraph lines between Edinburgh and Glasgow.