John William Brown (born 1886) was a British trade union leader and political activist.
He came to greatest prominence as general secretary of the International Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU).
He stood again in the 1922 United Kingdom general election, dropping back only slightly, to 42.2% of the votes cast.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) were unhappy that he was junior to non-British officers, and in August succeeded to having him promoted to become joint general secretary.
In the face of an impasse, both Brown and another general secretary, Jan Oudegeest, chose to resign.