David Frederick Hawkins (3 December 1933 – 5 November 2020) was an Australian world-class competition swimmer who won three gold medals at the British Empire Games in 1950 and 1954.

After finishing tenth in the 220 yards breaststroke, Hawkins went to the United States for his university education, attending Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

His father, Gordon Frederick Hawkins, served in the Australian Army in the 2/1st Battalion in World War II, where he fought multiple campaigns in North Africa.

In the Battle of Crete, he was taken POW and spent the remainder of the war in Germany in Stalag 13 C.[3] In 1956, Hawkins was awarded a Bachelor of Arts (cum laude in general studies) from Harvard College.

Hawkins was in research and teaching roles in the Accounting Department at Harvard Business School for over 55 years (1960-2015), specializing in Financial Reporting and Control.