| Office: | New York City Comptroller |
| Term Start: | 1849 |
| Term End: | 1849 |
| Predecessor: | Talman J. Waters |
| Successor: | Joseph R. Taylor |
| Office1: | Member of the New York State Senate |
| Term Start1: | 1848 |
| Term End1: | 1849 |
| Predecessor1: | New district |
| Successor1: | Clarkson Crolius |
| Office2: | Member of the New York State Assembly |
| Term Start2: | 1816 |
| Term End2: | 1817 |
| Birth Date: | 2 October 1785 |
| Birth Place: | New York City, U.S. |
| Death Place: | New York City, U.S. |
| Party: | Whig |
| Alma Mater: | Columbia College |
| Parents: | Jonathan Lawrence Ruth Riker Lawrence |
| Children: | 11, including Abraham |
| Relations: | Samuel Lawrence (brother) William T. Lawrence (brother) |
John L. Lawrence (October 2, 1785 – July 24, 1849) was an American lawyer, diplomat, and politician from New York.
John was born in New York City. He was the son of Jonathan Lawrence (1737–1812), a merchant and New York State Senator, and Ruth (née Riker) Lawrence (1746–1818), a member of the Riker family, for whom Rikers Island is named.[1] Among his siblings were brothers Samuel Lawrence (1773–1837), a Congressmen, and William T. Lawrence (1788–1859).[2]
He was also a direct descendant of Capt. James Lawrence, a hero of the War of 1812,[3] and Maj. Thomas Lawrence of the British Army who received a land grant in 1656 in what became Queens.[4]
He graduated from Columbia College in 1803.[5]
From June 7, 1814, to May 19, 1815, he was Chargé d'Affaires at Stockholm, representing the United States during the absence of Minister to Sweden Jonathan Russell.[6]
He was a member of the New York State Assembly (New York Co.) in 1816–17. He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1821.[7]
He was a presidential elector in 1840, voting for William Henry Harrison and John Tyler.[7]
He was a member of the New York State Senate (4th D.) in 1848 and 1849. In May 1849, he was appointed New York City Comptroller,[8] but died two months later.[7]
On June 2, 1816, he married Sarah Augusta Smith (1794–1877), daughter of Elizabeth (née Woodhull) Smith (daughter of Gen. Nathaniel Woodhull) and General John Tangier Smith, a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from New York.[9] Together, John and Sarah were the parents of eleven children, including Abraham Riker Lawrence, a Justice of the Supreme Court of New York.[10]
Lawrence died of cholera in New York City on July 24, 1849.[11]