John Johnstone (East India Company)
| John Johnstone | |
|---|---|
from a larger painting
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| Born |
28 April 1734 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Died | 10 December 1795 (aged 61) Alva, Clackmannanshire, Scotland |
| Residence | Alva House, Alva, Clackmannanshire |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Known for | Making a fortune in India |
| Net worth |
£300,000 (equivalent to £26.3 million in 2017). |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth |
£300,000
John Johnstone (28 April 1734 – 10 December 1795) was a Scottish nabob, a corrupt official of the British East India Company who returned home with great wealth. Described as "a shrewd and unscrupulous business man", he survived several scandals and became a major landowner when he returned to Scotland in 1765.
Johnstone sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1774 to 1780, having bribed his way to a victory in the Dysart Burghs.
Johnstone was born in Edinburgh, the fifth son of Sir James Johnstone, 3rd Baronet (1697–1772) and his wife, Barbara (died 1773), daughter of Alexander Murray, 4th Lord Elibank. The Jacobite plotter Alexander Murray of Elibank was his uncle.
His brothers included the British Army officer and politician Sir James Johnstone, 4th Baronet (1726–1794), the wealthy lawyer and politician William (later Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet (1729–1805), and the politician and Royal Navy officer George Johnstone (1730–1787). Another brother, Patrick, died in the Black Hole of Calcutta.
In 1765 Johnstone married Elizabeth Caroline Keene, daughter of a Colonel Keene from Northamptonshire, and niece of the diplomat Sir Benjamin Keene. They had one son and daughter. His son, James Raymond Johnstone of Alva, married Mary Elizabeth Cholmeley (b. c 1778, d. 9 Sep 1843).
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