| John Lawther | |
| Birth Date: | 19 September 1899 |
| Death Place: | Southern Pines, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | Westminster (PA) |
| Coach Sport1: | Football |
| Coach Years2: | 1926–1929 |
| Coach Team2: | Westminster (PA) (assistant) |
| Coach Years3: | 1931–1933 |
| Coach Team3: | Westminster (PA) |
| Coach Sport4: | Basketball |
| Coach Years5: | 1925–1930 |
| Coach Team5: | Westminster (PA) |
| Coach Years6: | 1931–1935 |
| Coach Team6: | Westminster (PA) |
| Coach Years7: | 1936–1949 |
| Coach Team7: | Penn State |
| Overall Record: | 9–18 (football) 313–136 (basketball) |
| Tournament Record: | Basketball 1–1 (NCAA) |
| Awards: | NAIA Hall of Fame Helms Foundation Hall of Fame |
John Dobson Lawther (September 19, 1899 – September 21, 1996) was an American football and basketball coach and professor. He was the head basketball coach of Westminster College from 1925 to 1930 and again from 1931 to 1936 and Pennsylvania State University from 1936 to 1949. Lawther guided Penn State to an appearance in the 1942 NCAA basketball tournament. After leaving coaching, Lawther became a professor and athletic administrator at Penn State and became a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Lawther was an alumnus of Westminster College and earned a master's degree from Columbia University.[1]