John Campbell White, 1st Baron Overtoun, DL, JP (21 November 1843 – 15 February 1908) was a Scottish chemical manufacturer, supporter of religious causes, philanthropist and Liberal politician.

He was raised to the peerage by Gladstone in 1893, and in 1905 was granted the Freedom of the City of Rutherglen (where his chemical works was based), following being honoured in the same fashion by Dumbarton two years earlier, in recognition of his philanthropic endeavours.

White's persona as a generous and committed Scottish Presbyterian was at odds with his exploitation of the workers at his Shawfield Chemical Works, the source of his great wealth.

Politician and leader of the nascent Labour Party, Keir Hardie, exposed the scandalous working conditions there in a series of pamphlets published in 1899 entitled White Slaves.

After his father's death in 1887 White and his cousin William Chrystal became sole partners in the Shawfield Chemical Works, which was the largest of its kind in the world, employing about 500 men in 1909.

[4] Safety regulations introduced in 1893 were largely ignored, and workers were forced to operate in unventilated areas without effective protective equipment.

He declined to stand as the Liberal candidate for Dunbartonshire in 1889 but took an active part in supporting John Sinclair's candidature in the 1892 general election, in which 50 years of Conservative domination in the constituency was broken.

In addition to his nephew, Lord Overtoun was also connected to the intelligence agent and 1950s MP for Rutherglen, Richard Brooman-White, although not a blood relative: the 'White' suffix of the surname was added by Boorman's grandfather (also Richard) upon inheriting the country estate at Arddarroch, Loch Long (today part of the Finnart Oil Terminal facilities) from his stepfather - John White (1810–1881), Lord Overtoun's uncle.

[1] Other than a donation to build a public park which still bears his name,[8] his legacy to the people of Rutherglen and Cambuslang was the huge amount of toxic waste that his chemical works dumped on their doorsteps for more than one hundred years.