Rudolf Gelpke (1928–1972) was a Swiss Islamic scholar. He studied at the University of Basel, where he received his doctorate in Islamic Studies in 1957. Later Gelpke moved to Iran, where he taught at the University of Tehran and afterwards at the University of Bern in Switzerland. Between September 1962 and May 1963, he taught as associate professor at UCLA. After returning to Switzerland, he suffered a stroke and died in 1972 at the age of 43.