John Thwaites (British politician)

Sir John Thwaites (24 May 1815 – 8 August 1870) was a British politician who was the first Chairman of the Metropolitan Board of Works and therefore the first leaders of local government in London.

As the third son he was not expected to follow in his father's stead, and went to London in 1832 to work for Henry Bardwell, a woollen draper on Holborn Hill; in 1835, he became a partner in the business, which had a base on Oxford Street.

He was made a member of more than one Vestry, which handled local government for the parish, and was also delegated to the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers from Southwark.

Thwaites was selected by two different Vestries to be their delegate, and his involvement across London and on the Commission of Sewers led to his election by the Board to be their Chairman on 22 December 1855.

His illness was caused partly by overwork which contributed to his problems from diabetes, but ironically, in view of his work on building London's sewerage system, Thwaites died of cholera at his Wandsworth home.