Colonel John Pennycuick CSI (15 January 1841 – 9 March 1911) was a British Army engineer and civil servant who served as a member of the Madras Legislative Council.

Pennycuick entered the East India Company Military College at Addiscombe, Surrey, in 1857, and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Madras Engineer Group in December 1858.

During his six years of service in the PWD, Pennycuick served as Chief Engineer in the construction of the Mullaperiyar Dam.

[8] Arthur Haygarth records in Scores and Biographies that Pennycuick was a "good batsman" and bowled "occasionally middle-paced and round-armed".

Pennycuick went ahead with the construction of the dam in spite of dangerous diseases and insects, as well as relentless storms.

Pennycuick used lime and surkhi paste for construction, taking into consideration the gravitational force: this allows the dam to withstand tremors and remain strong.

In 2018 the grave was renovated and a large granite plaque was added in commemoration of his work on the Mullaiperiyar Dam.