William Swift (March 17, 1848 – June 30, 1919) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy, and briefly the Naval Governor of Guam in 1901.

Swift was born in Windham, Connecticut,[1] and entered the Navy with the rank of midshipman on 25 September 1863, graduating from the United States Naval Academy in June 1867.

[6] While commanding Yorktown in the Pacific, he was briefly appointed as Governor of Guam to allow then-Governor Seaton Schroeder to return to Washington, D.C. to testify in the Schley Inquiry.

Swift retired due to his age on his 62nd birthday on March 17, 1908,[13] but acted as an adviser to the Secretary on navy yard and industrial affairs.

Admiral Swift died at the Naval Hospital in Newport, Rhode Island on June 30, 1919, and was buried in the town of Richfield Springs, New York.