Sir John Tomlinson Brunner, 1st Baronet, (8 February 1842 – 1 July 1919) was a British chemical industrialist and
Liberal Party politician. At
Hutchinson's alkali works in
Widnes he rose to the position of general manager. There he met
Ludwig Mond, whom he later formed a partnership with to create the chemical company
Brunner Mond & Co., initially making alkali by the
Solvay process. As a
Member of Parliament he represented
Northwich,
Cheshire, in 1885–1886 and then from 1887–1910. He was a paternalistic employer and as a politician supported
Irish Home Rule,
trade unions,
free trade,
welfare reforms and, leading up to the
First World War, a more sympathetic stance towards Germany. Brunner was a prominent
Freemason, and a generous benefactor to the towns in his constituency and to the
University of Liverpool. He is the great grandfather of HRH
The Duchess of Kent.