| John Johnstone Paterson | |
| Office1: | Unofficial Member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong |
| Term Start1: | 6 April 1936 |
| Term End1: | 25 December 1941 |
| Predecessor1: | William Shenton |
| Appointed1: | Sir Andrew Caldecott |
| Office2: | Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong |
| Term Start2: | 17 April 1930 |
| Term End2: | 25 December 1941 |
| Predecessor2: | B. D. F. Beith |
| Appointed2: | Thomas Southorn Sir William Peel Sir Geoffry Northcote |
| Office3: | Chairman of the Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation |
| Term Start3: | February 1932 |
| Term End3: | February 1933 |
| Predecessor3: | C. Gordon Mackie |
| Successor3: | Thomas Ernest Pearce |
| Term Start4: | February 1936 |
| Term End4: | February 1937 |
| Predecessor4: | Stanley Hudson Dodwell |
| Successor4: | C. Miskin |
| Term Start5: | February 1941 |
| Term End5: | February 1942 |
| Predecessor5: | H. V. Wilkinson |
| Successor5: | Arthur Morse |
| Birth Date: | 1886 10, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Dumfries, Scotland |
| Death Place: | Nanyuki, Kenya |
| Occupation: | Businessman |
John Johnstone Paterson (29 October 1886 - 29 January 1971) was a tai-pan of Jardine Matheson & Co. and a member of the Executive Council and Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
The eldest son of William Paterson, a former partner at Jardine Matheson & Co. in the 1870s and 1880s,J. J. Paterson followed in his father's footsteps, becoming managing director of the firm in the 1930s.[1] He also served as chairman of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation on three occasions between 1932 and 1941.[2] [3]
Paterson was first appointed to the Legislative Council in April 1930 as a stand-in for B. D. F. Beith.[4] Subsequently, he was re-appointed to two four-year-terms in 1934 and 1938.[5] [6] [7] In April 1936, Paterson succeeded William Edward Leonard Shenton as a member of the Executive Council.[8]
During his time in Hong Kong, Paterson served on a number of public bodies, including the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps Advisory Committee,[9] the Hong Kong Naval Volunteer Advisory Committee,[10] the Authorized Architects' Committee,[11] the Housing Commission[12] and the Taxation Committee.[1]
During the Battle of Hong Kong, he commandeered the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps' Special Guard Company known as the Hugheseliers, after its founder A.W. Hughes. Many of the recruits were older British men who had fought in World War I and the Boer War.[13] The company was tasked with defending the North Point Power Station and was one of the few to survive the Japanese attack.[14] [15] Paterson became a prisoner of war during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong and was detained at Shamshuipo Camp and Argyle Street Camp.
After the war, J.J. Paterson settled in Nairobi, Kenya, where he died in 1971.[16]