John Emmett Edgerton (October 2, 1879 – August 4, 1938) was an industrialist who gained prominence as the president of the National Association of Manufacturers from 1921 to 1931.

[2] One of the highest honors that a student could achieve was the "Bachelor of Ugliness," a title given to the male undergraduate student believed to be most representative of ideal young manhood and the class's most popular member, devised by Professor William H. Dodd in 1885.

One such ad read: "John E. Edgerton will be glad to see his friends at Varley, Bauman & Bowers: One Price Clothiers, Hatters, Furnishers and Merchant Tailors.

"[7] One account reads: "John Edgerton, whose last year was 1903, was in speed and size the type of man which made the Yale teams of the early nineties so powerful.

After leaving college he became one of the head masters at the Columbia Military Academy at Columbia, and is now manager and part owner of a woolen mill at Lebanon, Tenn."[8] In 1904 Edgerton coached football at Memphis University School.