William Harvey Wells (1812–1885) was an American educator who served as the superintendent of Chicago Public Schools from 1856 through 1864.

[2] He was the son of a farmer, and received his initial education from a small district school he attended for several weeks in the winter up to the age of seventeen.

[2] In the summer of 1847, Wells was elected the principal of Putnam Free School in Newbury, Massachusetts.

[2] In May of 1856, he resigned this position in order to accept appointment as the superintendent of Chicago Public Schools.

[5][6] This would be adopted by many other cities as a teachers' manual and standard guide, directly shaping education in the United States for many years after.