John Macdonald Cameron (8 April 1847 – 3 September 1912) was a Scottish chemist and Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892.
In 1870 he gained a Board of Inland Revenue scholarship in Science and studied at the Royal School of Mines winning 1st class prize in Organic and Inorganic Chemistry.
[8] After losing the election, Cameron was made deputy Master of the Mint in Sydney, but he resigned after some years to return to Borneo, prospecting for oil.
He was successfully involved with establishing the oilfield on the island of Tarakan, north of his earlier exploits, but health concerns prompted him to return to Scotland, where he bought the estate of Balintraid.
[9] At the time of his death he held shares in both oil and timber concessions at Tarakan, some of which gave rise to court proceedings by his son, Edward Frankland Cameron.