John Swett (July 31, 1830 – August 22, 1913) is considered to be the "Father of the California public school" system and the "Horace Mann of the Pacific".

[5] Swett arrived in California in 1853 to mine gold but quickly sought work as a teacher in San Francisco.

Running in 1863, during the Civil War, as a National Union Party (Republican) candidate he was elected California State Superintendent of Public Instruction and served until 1867.

"[17] In his 1878 book The Poison Fountain Zachariah Montgomery criticized, among other things, Swett's autocratic style.

"[18]In his 1876 book, History of the Public School Systems of California, Swett becomes one of the first Californian educators to specify that mature children actually belong to the state or society, writing: "Children arrived at the age of maturity belong, not to the parents, but to the State, to society, to the country.