John Swearingen

John Eldred Swearingen (1918–2007) was an American petroleum industry executive who served as chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Standard Oil Company (Indiana), later known as Amoco, for 23 years. He served as a spokesperson during the energy crisis of the 1970s and played a role in stabilising Continental Illinois Bank during a financial crisis.

Early life and education John Eldred Swearingen was born on September 7, 1918, in Columbia, South Carolina, to John E. Swearingen (Sr.) and Mary Hough Swearingen. His father served as the state superintendent of education while also managing farming operations. Swearingen enrolled at the University of South Carolina at the age of 16 on a scholarship and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1938 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering. At the outset of World War II, he contributed to the company's conversion to producing aviation fuel and TNT, which exempted him from military service. Swearingen was named a director in 1952, became president in 1958, and was appointed CEO in 1960. Swearingen chaired the National Petroleum Council (1974–75) and the American Petroleum Institute (1978–79), and was a spokesperson for the industry during the energy crisis of the 1970s. As chairman and CEO, he stabilized the bank, restructured its management, and recruited new executives before retiring for a second time in 1987. He was a life trustee of Carnegie Mellon University and Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. His professional and humanitarian achievements were recognized with numerous awards, including the Herbert Hoover Humanitarian Award (1980), the Charles F. Rand Memorial Gold Medal from the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (1980), the Washington Award from the Western Society of Engineers (1981), and the Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement from the American Petroleum Institute (1983). In 1987, the University of South Carolina honored him by dedicating its new College of Engineering facility as the John E. Swearingen Engineering Center. His memoir, Think Ahead, was published in 2004.

Death John E. Swearingen died on September 14, 2007, at the age of 89.