Jean Henri van Swinden (8 June 1746 – 9 March 1823) was a Dutch mathematician and physicist who taught at the University of Franeker and in the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam.

[1] He became professor at the University of Franeker the same year, where he continued to study and conduct research as well as teach.

In 1798 he led a commission to report on the state of the health of the inhabitants of Amsterdam, based on the results of the census.

He was part of an international commission to determine the length of the meter, as a first step to introducing the metric system in the Netherlands.

His lectures at Felix Meritis from 1777 onwards on this subject were bundled and published as Verhandeling over volmaakte maaten en gewigten in 1802.