John Baker White DSO (August 24, 1868 – June 2, 1944) was an American lawyer, military officer, and Democratic politician in the U.S. state of West Virginia.

[3] At the age of 16, White left his schooling to work on the farm and in his father's county court clerk office while studying privately at home.

[3] There, White commenced his career in public service in 1886 when he began serving as a messenger in the office of West Virginia Secretary of State Henry S.

[5] He continued to fulfill that position until March 8, 1893, when he was appointed to serve as the private secretary to West Virginia Governor William A.

[5][9] During the West Virginia general elections of 1892 and 1896, White was recognized for his leadership efforts in support of the campaigns of Democratic candidates.

[5][9] White's practice began arguing cases in county, state, and federal level courts within West Virginia.

[9] On December 19, 1901, the West Virginia Secretary of State office issued a charter authorizing $100,000 in capital stock for the incorporation of Midland Railway, of which White was a corporator with one subscribed share of $100.

[5][9] According to Governor Atkinson in his Bench and Bar of West Virginia (1919), White "served faithfully and efficiently until the close of the war".

[5][9][12] White had previously attempted to enter the service of the U.S. Army through its various training schools to serve in World War I, but he had been rebuffed each time due to his advanced age of 49.

[5] On December 6, 1917, White received "special permission" from President Woodrow Wilson to serve in the Army's Judge Advocate General's Corps with the rank of major.

[5][13] White continued to carry out his duties in London until June 1919, by which time the war was over, when his base section there was closed and he was transferred to the United States military's general headquarters in France.

[5][13] Following his relief from active military service in Europe, White embarked upon a global journey that consisted of Egypt, Palestine, India, Burma, the Malay Peninsula, Java, China, Japan, and the Philippines.

[7] In 1939, Governor Homer A. Holt reappointed White to serve another term on the West Virginia Board of Control ending on June 30, 1941.

[13] White died of heart failure on June 2, 1944, at 1 p.m. at the age of 75 at his summer camp near Rupert, Greenbrier County, West Virginia.

[2] White was a practicing Mason and Knights Templar affiliated with Royal Arch Masonry and the Thirty-second Degree Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.