John McCormick Lea (December 25, 1818 – September 21, 1903) was an American Whig politician.

[1] His father was Luke Lea (1783–1851), a United States Representative from Tennessee, and his mother, Susan Wells McCormick.

[1] He served as President of the Board of Trustees of the University of Nashville.

[1][3] He was part of the commission to surrender Nashville to the Union Army in February 1862.

[1] He died in Monteagle, Tennessee on September 21, 1903, and he is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery.