John Johnstone (East India Company)

For other people named John Johnstone, see John Johnstone (disambiguation).

John Johnstone
from a larger painting[1]
Born(1734-04-28)28 April 1734
Edinburgh, Scotland
Died10 December 1795(1795-12-10) (aged 61)
Alva, Clackmannanshire, Scotland
NationalityScottish
Known forMaking a fortune in India (equivalent to £36.2 million in 2024).[2]
SpouseElizabeth

John Johnstone (28 April 1734 – 10 December 1795)[3] was a Scottish nabob,[4] a corrupt official of the British East India Company who returned home with great wealth. Described as "a shrewd and unscrupulous business man",[5] 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.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference burke was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference marshall was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference histparl-john-johnstone-d1795 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).