Sir John William Lubbock (March 26 1803 – June 21 1865) was an English banker, mathematician and astronomer.

He was born in Westminster, the son of John William Lubbock, of the Lubbock & Co bank. He was educated at Eton and then Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating in 1825. He immediately joined his father's bank.

In 1828 he joined the Astronomical Society , in 1829 he joined the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge and became a member of the Royal Society. He was twice Treasurer (1830-35, 1838-45) and three times Vice-President (1830-35, 1836-37, 1838-46) of the Royal Society. For his studies of tides he was awarded the Royal Medal in 1834.

Lubbock was the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of London (1837-42), a position later held by his eldest son, Sir John Lubbock.

He became head of Lubbock & Co, retired mostly in 1840, but oversaw the merger that created Roberts, Lubbock & Co in 1860.

He married Harriet Hotham in 1833 and they had eleven children.