John Stokes (1720–2 November 1781) was a Dublin-born academic who served (1762–1764) as the first Erasmus Smith's Professor of Mathematics at Trinity College Dublin (TCD).
He was the son of engineer Gabriel Stokes (1682–1768), who in 1746 became deputy surveyor general of Ireland, and Elizabeth King (1689–1751).
[1][2] John Stokes received a BA (1740) and MA (1743) from TCD, became a fellow there in 1746, and then got a BD (1752) and DD (1755).
During 1760–1762, he was Donegall Lecturer of Mathematics, and after his term as Erasmus Smith's Professor of Mathematics, he was appointed Regius Professor of Greek in 1764, but retired from TCD the following year.
Australian chemist and Foundation Professor of Chemistry at the University of New England, Robin Stokes, is a distant relative.