John Clarkson (abolitionist)

Lieutenant John Clarkson (4 April 1764 – 2 April 1828) was a Royal Navy officer, colonial administrator and abolitionist. He was the younger brother of Thomas Clarkson, one of the central figures in the British abolitionist movement. As a Sierra Leone Company agent, John Clarkson was instrumental in the founding of Freetown, Sierra Leone as a haven for chiefly formerly enslaved African Americans first relocated to Nova Scotia by British military authorities following the American War of Independence.

Clarkson not only founded Freetown, but was also the first governor of the settlement. Because of his work in establishing Freetown, Clarkson is considered to be one of the founding fathers of Sierra Leone, alongside Granville Sharp, Thomas Peters and Henry Thornton. To this day, the last prayer by Clarkson at Freetown can be found in the houses of Creoles and other Sierra Leoneans alike. To the Nova Scotians, 'Governor Clarkson' was both 'Father' and their 'Moses' who delivered them into the promised land.

Clarkson became a pacifist in 1816 and, together with his brother Thomas, became a founder of the Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace.