Sir John Jackson, 1st Baronet (30 December 1763 – 17 May 1820) was a British politician and businessman.
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Early life
John Jackson was born on 30 December 1763 at Kingston, Jamaica. He was the second son of John Jackson, a surgeon, and Hannah née Coverley. While little is known of Jackson's early life, he possibly was educated at Eton College from 1778. Jackson married Charlotte Spry, the daughter of Colonel Joseph Goreham, on 13 February 1797. The couple would go on to have four sons and two daughters.
Mercantile career
At an early point in his adult life Jackson served as a ship's purser. In around 1795 he was appointed secretary to Vice-Admiral George Keith Elphinstone, the Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope, after the Invasion of the Cape Colony. Jackson was still serving at the Cape in 1797, by then having taken responsibility as a navy agent for prize money on the station. Continuing to work under Keith, by 1800 Jackson had returned to England and was managing Keith's prize money in concert with William Fullerton-Elphinstone, Keith's brother. Jackson and Fullerton-Elphinstone were also registered as merchants, with a headquarters in Chandos Street, Cavendish Square. The partnership had seemingly dissolved by 1802, but Jackson continued on as a merchant and agent, now in Broad Street. He often worked in partnership with the insurance broker John Petty Muspratt, and continued as a merchant in Broad Street for the rest of his life. In 1803 Jackson put himself forward as a candidate to fill an empty seat on the court of directors of the East India Company (EIC), citing his previous experiences, but later withdrew.