John Hutton (publisher)

Sir John Hutton (14 October 1841 – 31 May 1903) was a publisher and Chairman of the London County Council between 1892 and 1895.

Sir John Hutton
Portrait of Sir John Hutton by Leonard Watts
Born	(1841-10-14)14 October 1841
Died	31 May 1903(1903-05-31) (aged 61)
Resting place	Highgate Cemetery
Nationality	British
Occupation(s)	Publisher and Politician
Known for	Chairmanship of the LCC

Career

Hutton was a proprietor and publisher of various newspapers and journals, including the Eclipse, Sporting Life^[1] and the ABC Railway Guide.^[2]

He became a London County Councillor, rising to become chairman in 1892, a post he held for three years. He was a campaigner for parks, opening to the public: Hackney Marshes (1893),^[3] Bishop's Park (1893),^[4] Lincoln's Inn Fields (1895).^[5]

Family grave of Sir John Hutton in Highgate Cemetery

Personal life

John Hutton was born in London on 14 October 1841. In 1865 he married Elizabeth Ann Neale (1 May 1842 – 2 April 1929) and they had five children: Percy John (1866-7), Ernest (b.1869), Constance May (b.1871), Winifred (b.1873) and Montagu (b.1876).^{[citation needed]}

Constance was the subject of widely reported slander case in 1897 when a French naval officer, Rene Martin Fortris accused her father of falsely stating that Fortris had been making unwelcome advances towards his daughter for two years. According to Fortris this led to Sir Frederick Pollock and John Norbury declining his application for membership of the London Fencing Club. The court was told that Fortris had sent Lady Hutton a piece of blood stained material as a Christmas present with a note claiming that he had tried to commit suicide. The jury was unimpressed by his case and found in favour of Sir John Hutton.^[6] Constance later married Richard Northcott.^{[citation needed]}

Hutton was knighted in 1894 and died on 31 May 1903. He is buried in a family grave on the west side of Highgate Cemetery.^[7]