| Honorific Prefix: | General |
| John Henry Loft | |
| Birth Date: | 1769 2, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Grainthorpe, Lincolnshire, England |
| Death Place: | Loft Street, Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England |
| Burial Place: | Marshchapel |
| Nationality: | British |
| Spouse: | Elizabeth Farr |
| Occupation: | Soldier |
| Known For: | Corrupt politics, transcribing Lincolnshire graves |
John Henry Loft (20 February 1769 – 13 July 1849) was a British soldier and politician.
Loft was born on 20 February 1769, in Grainthorpe, Lincolnshire.[1]
In 1769 he enlisted in the 15th Regiment of Foot and had been promoted to lieutenant-colonel within four years, of an unattached Corps of 4,000 men which he had raised himself.[2]
Loft was the member of Parliament for Great Grimsby[3] and was much involved with recruiting during the Napoleonic Wars. He was a controversial but influential figure in the development of Grimsby as a port, being one of the original shareholders named in the act of parliament which created the Grimsby Haven Company in 1796.[4]
Between around 1826 and 1844, Loft obsessively recorded details of churches, gravestones and memorials around Lincolnshire, many of which have survived and become a useful resource for historians.[5]
Loft died on 13 July 1849, in a house on Loft Street, Grimsby, which had been named after him.[6]