John White (Frontenac County)

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John White (c. 1761 – January 4, 1800) was a lawyer and politician in Upper Canada. He was the first attorney general for Upper Canada.

He was born at Hicks Hall, Middlesex, England. He studied at the Inner Temple in London and was called to the bar in 1785. He was recommended to William Osgoode by his friend Samuel Shepherd as a possible attorney general for Upper Canada and was appointed in 1791. He arrived in 1792 at Kingston, where he was elected to the 1st Parliament of Upper Canada as the member for Leeds & Frontenac. He moved to Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake), where the government was located in September of the same year.

White played an important role in founding the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1797 and was its first Treasurer. He helped pass the bill in 1793 which barred the introduction of additional slaves into the province and the legislation which established district courts and Court of the King's Bench.

He lived beyond his means and was often in debt. As a result of an affair with the wife of John Small, the clerk of the Executive Council of Upper Canada, White was challenged to a duel on January 2, 1800. He was shot and died 2 days later.