Sir John Tom McCraith (1847 – 5 December 1919) was a British Conservative and Unionist politician who served in a range of senior political positions on the Nottingham City Council.
John Tom McCraith was born in Leicester in 1847, the eldest son of William McCraith (d. 1884) of Southwick, Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, an official in the Midland Railway Company, and his wife, Sarah (d. 1897), daughter of James York, of Northamptonshire.
[1][2] At the age of four, he arrived at Nottingham and went on to carry out his education at Goodacre's School in the City before becoming a yarn merchant.
During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, McCraith was visiting Paris and was forced to build barricades when fighting broke out until British authorities negotiated for his release.
[2] By the time he died, unmarried, on 5 December 1919, McCraith was the longest-serving member of the Nottingham City Council.