John Christopher Draper (March 31, 1835 – December 20, 1885) was an American chemist and surgeon.

His father, John William Draper, was an accomplished doctor, chemist, astronomer, botanist, and professor at New York University.

Draper's mother, Antonia Coetana de Paiva Pereira Gardner, was a daughter of the personal physician to the John VI of Portugal and Charlotte of Spain.

In 1850–52 Draper took the arts course, and in 1855–57 the medical course, in New York University, and then studied in Europe.

[4] This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Lyon Gardiner Tyler (1915) John Christopher Draper, Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Volume III, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York