John Smith

Encyclopedia : J : JO : JOH : John Smith

The name John Smith is often regarded as the archetype of a very common personal name in the United Kingdom, as well as in most other English-speaking countries. John has historically been one of the most common first names in these countries, and Smith is the most common surname in both Britain and the United States, though John has more recently fallen far down the list of most popular names for newborn boys in both countries. It is the archetypal pseudonym, placeholder name or metasyntatic name in those countries, and is used similarly to John Doe in the U.S. In Britain, Joe Bloggs is used similarly.

There are a number of famous people called John Smith:

Contents

1 Politicians

1.1 United Kingdom
1.2 United States
1.3 Other countries

2 Cultural figures
3 Academic figures
4 Journalists
5 Sports figures
6 Religious figures
7 Miscellaneous figures
8 Fictional characters
9 See also

Politicians

United Kingdom

John Smith (English statesman), commissioner of the English Treasury, 1694–1695
John Smith (UK politician) (1938–1994), leader of the British Labour Party
John Smith (Welsh politician) (born 1951), Welsh politician and Labour Party Member of Parliament
John Smith (Manchester politician), Councillor in the City of Manchester

United States

John Smith (Ohio Senator) (1735–1824)
John Smith (Virginia), U.S. Representative, 1801–1814
John Smith (New Jersey), Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of New Jersey
John Smith (New York), U.S. Senator, 1804–1813
John Smith (Vermont), U.S. Representative from Vermont, 1839–1841
John Smith (Detroit mayor) 1924–1928
John Smith (Illinois), Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
John Smith (Baseball), Baseball player, 1873-1875
John Ambler Smith (1847-1892), U.S. Representative from Ohio
John Armstrong Smith, U.S. Representative from Ohio
John Butler Smith (former Governor of New Hampshire) (1838–1914)
John Cotton Smith (former Governor of Connecticut) (1765–1845)
John Hyatt Smith (1824-1886), U.S. Representative from New York
John Joseph Smith (1904-1980), US Representative from Connecticut
John Lyman Smith, a member of the Utah territorial legislature, and son John Smith (1781-1854), one of the Mormon Presiding Patriarchs
John M. C. Smith (1853-1923), US Representative from Michigan
John Quincy Smith (1824-1901), U.S. Representative from Ohio, 1873–1875
John Speed Smith (1792-1854), U.S. Representative from Kentucky, 1822–1823
John T. Smith (Pennsylvania), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania, 1843–1844
John Walter Smith (1845–1925), former Governor of Maryland
Jonathan Bayard Smith (1742-1812), Continental Congress Delegate from Pennsylvania

Other countries

John Smith (Gibraltar), Acting Governor in 1809
John Smith (Canadian politician), member of the Parliament of Ontario, 1867–1871
John Valentine Smith (1824–1895), New Zealand politician

Cultural figures

John Smith (actor) (died 1995), American actor
John Smith (filmmaker) (born 1952), London-based avant-garde filmmaker
John Smith (BBC) (born 1957), Director of Finance, Property and Business Affairs of the BBC, 2004-
John Smith (comics), British comics writer
John Smith (poet), British poet, co-writer with Michael Garrick of jazz–choral works
John Christopher Smith, 18th century composer
John Francis Smith (1868–1941), American painter and art teacher
John Orrin Smith (19th century), woodcutter
John Raphael Smith (1752-1812) English mezzotint engraver and painter
John Stafford Smith (1750–1836), composer of the tune for "The Star-Spangled Banner"
Jon Smith KENZ Radio personality (Salt Lake City, Utah)
John Gladstone Smith (1963- ), major London-based musician
Johnny Smith (1922- ), American Jazz guitarist

Academic figures

John Smith (mathematician) (18th century), mathematician at the University of Oxford, 1766–1797
John Francis Smith (nuclear physicist) 1970-, nuclear physicist at University of Paisley.
John Smith (dentist) (1825–1910), founder of the Edinburgh school of dentistry
John Cyril Smith (1922–2003), leading authority on English Criminal Law
John Lawrence Smith (1818-83) American M. D. and President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Journalists

John Mayfors Smith (born 1946 - ), Editor of Community Newspapers in S.W. Durham, UK.

Sports figures

John Smith (football) (born 1949), former placekicker with the New England Patriots
John Smith (boxer), a boxer who lost an eight round decision to future world champion Maurice Hope in 1973
John Smith (wrestler) (born 1965), head coach of the Oklahoma State wrestling program
John L. Smith, head coach of the Michigan State football program
John T. Smith, an American professional wrestler.
John Smith (footballer) (1949-1988), West Ham & Tottenham Left half and Inside Left.

Religious figures

Rev. John Smith (Chaplain) International Chaplains Association
John Smith or John Smyth (1570–1612), Baptist minister
John Smith (missionary) (1790–1824), English missionary in the West Indies
John Smith (1781-1854), an uncle of Joseph Smith, Jr. and eventual Presiding Patriarch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
John Smith (1832-1911), a nephew of Joseph Smith, Jr. and another eventual Presiding Patriarch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Miscellaneous figures

John Smith of Jamestown (1580–1631), English colonial soldier, associated with Pocahontas
John Smith, Blue (c.1615–1643), pioneer of Queen's County, New York
John Smith (naval officer), U.S. Navy, 1807–1811
John Smith (VC) (born c. 1814), recipient of the Victoria Cross
John Smith (Medal of Honor, b. 1826) (1826-?), American Civil War sailor and Medal of Honor recipient
John Smith (Medal of Honor, b. 1831) (1831-?), American Civil War sailor and Medal of Honor recipient
John Smith (police officer), Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, 1991–1995
John F. Smith, Jr. (born 1939), former Chairman and CEO of General Motors
John Gordon Smith, one of the founders (1824) of Glenlivet, the first distillery in Scotland
John Smith (brewer) (died 1879), founder of the Tadcaster brewery in North Yorkshire
John Smith (architect) Designer of the Leeds City Varieties

Fictional characters

A character in a comic strip named ["John Smith"] about a man who becomes obsessed with googling his own name and becoming the top result.
John ("Johnny") Smith is the protagonist in Stephen King's novel The Dead Zone. (When the book was adapted for film by director David Cronenberg, his comment about the name was "I'd never name a character 'Johnny Smith.'")
The Doctor in Doctor Who has given his name as "Dr John Smith" (mainly in stories set in contemporary or near-future Britain).
Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith, portrayed by George Peppard is the main character in the series The A-Team.
Faber John, which can be translated to John Smith, is the name of the founder of 'Time City, a fictional place in a Diana Wynne Jones novel.
John and Jane Smith are the names given to the characters of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
The DC Comics superhero Red Tornado has sometimes gone by the alias John Smith.
In , John Smith was one of the aliases of Bruce Wayne.
John Smith is the name of the identity-torn protagonist (an "Indian" adopted and named by two white parents) in Sherman Alexie's 1995 novel, "Indian Killier."
Captain John Smith, the English male protagonist in Pocahontas.
Teenage detective, Veronica Mars, was called upon to find her classmate's father, conviniently named John Smith, in the third episode (Meet John Smith).
There is a minor character in the anime series My-HiME who is named John Smith.