ramachandran nagaswamy (10 august 1930 – 23 january 2022) was an indian historian, archaeologist and epigraphist. he was known for his work on temple works and art history of tamil nadu. he was a director of the tamil nadu archaeology department from 1966 until 1988. he was awarded india's third highest civilian award the padma bhushan in 2018. nagaswamy was born in madras, india.