John Hutchinson (1825 – 24 March 1865) was a chemist and industrialist who established the first chemical factory in Widnes, then Lancashire now Cheshire (from April 1998), England.

He died at the early age of 40 by which time a number of other chemical factories had opened in the town.

His father, John, had held a commission in the Royal Navy and served under Nelson during the Napoleonic Wars.

[7] When Hutchinson arrived in Widnes there was plenty of available labour, partly because of the immigration of Irish unskilled men due to the Great Famine.

[9][b] In 1861 John Brunner came to work at Hutchinson's, joining his older brother Henry, and he was soon appointed as the office manager.

[15] He had his own private gasworks near his home in Appleton from which he supplied to gas to customers living nearby.

[19] In 1850 Hutchinson married Mary Elizabeth Kinsey who had been born in Ireland but who was a member of an old Cheshire and Shropshire family.

They lived throughout their marriage in Appleton Lodge, Widnes, and had five children, three daughters and two sons, including John, Arthur, Mary and Gertrude.