Richard John Howell (October 12, 1903 – July 20, 1967) was an American competition swimmer who competed for Northwestern University and represented the United States at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.

[4] In the Cook County Interscholastic Championship in Chicago in early December 1922, representing the Hyde Park High Swim Team, Howell swam a :55.8 in the 100-yard freestyle.

[13][14] By 1923, Howell had also competed while representing the exceptional program provided by the Illinois Athletic Club (IAC) where he swam the 440-yard freestyle event in 5:03.8 in March 1923, breaking Johnny Weismuller's world record for a 60-yard pool by 1.4 seconds.

Weismuller, who also swam for the Illinois Athletic Club, would later replace him in the finals of the 4x200 freestyle relay at the Paris Olympics in July 1924.

In August, 1922, Howell won the 2.5 mile swim marathon in the Chicago River defeating Olympic swimmer Norman Ross.

[3] After swimming in the preliminary heats and semifinals and helping the American relay team qualify for the final, he was replaced by Johnny Weissmuller.

[20][21] At the AAU Sr. Indoor Championships on February 16, 1927 in Chicago, he broke what was considered the world plunging record for 60-foot pools by covering a 57-yard distance in 14.4 seconds.