John Brown Watt, MLC (16 May 1826 – 28 September 1897) was a Scottish-born Australian politician. He served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council in Sydney, and he was a board member of the Imperial Federation League in London. He was the founder of the Hospital for Sick Children, Glebe, and a director of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, and a director of the Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary, and a director of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, and a director of the Union Bank of Australia (now the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited).
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Early years
Watt was born in Edinburgh, Mid-Lothian, Scotland. He was the eldest son of Alexander Hamilton Watt, a Royal Navy officer, and his wife Margaret (née Gilchrist). Watt graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1840, and in 1842, he emigrated to Sydney via the Benares.
Early career
Watt was appointed a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council in September 1861, and he resigned on leaving for England in March 1866.
He was reappointed to the New South Wales Legislative Council in October 1874. In 1877, he presented the sum of £1000 to the University of Sydney to found an exhibition for students from primary schools. He presided over the Royal Commission on Military Defences of 1881.