John Rutherford (Rutherford) Alcock (1809–97)

Diplomat. Trained as a surgeon at Westminster Hospital. Became deputy inspector-general of army hospitals, but had to retire from surgery. British consul in China, 1844; consul-general in Japan, 1858–62. Minister-plenipotentiary at Peking (Beijing), 1865. Retired, 1871. Knighted, 1862.