Oliver M. Hayden (1893-1991) was a chemist who specialized in rubber, who worked for the Fisk Rubber Company and E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company.

Hayden was born on August 20, 1893 in Windsor, Connecticut. He earned his A.B. degree from Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts, in chemistry. After Army service during World War I, he worked for the Fisk Rubber Company, where he gained experience in rubber compounds. He joined E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company in 1926 as a technician in the rubber laboratory of the Organic Chemicals Department. From 1927 to 1941, he was the manager of the laboratory and was part of the team that developed Neoprene. In 1941, he was promoted to assistant manager of the Rubber Chemicals Division of the Organic Chemicals Department. Hayden was again promoted to assistant director of sales of the Elastomer Chemicals Department in 1954. He retired from the company in 1958.

Hayden married Dorothy Clark (1894-1987) in 1919, the couple had two children, a son who died at a young age, and a daughter. Hayden died August 13, 1991.