Ashton P Stevens (August 11, 1872 - July 12, 1951) was an American drama critic. His newspaper column appeared in the San Francisco Examiner and later in the Chicago Herald-American. The character Jedediah Leland in the movie Citizen Kane was reportedly based on him. Born in Oakland, CA, the son of Hannah L and James W Stevens, he was the brother of John Landers Stevens and uncle of Jack Landers Stevens and George Cooper Stevens, director of many movies such as Shane, Giant and The Greatest Story Ever Told.