John Berrien Lindsley (1822-1897) was an educator, author, ordained minister, professor, and physician. Diversely talented and having many interests, his greatest contribution was the advancement of public health, public education, and medical education in Tennessee and the South.

He was born on October 24, 1822 at Princeton, NJ. John received his B.A. in 1839 and his M.A. in 1841 from the University of Nashville. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1843 from the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Medicine.

He helped establish the Medical Department of the University of Nashville, where he was a professor of chemistry from 1850-1873. He was dean of the medical faculty until 1855, when he was elected chancellor of the university, and he was largely responsible for the survival of the university during the Civil War. He had a role in the formation of the Tennessee College of Pharmacy in 1870, and he was a professor there from 1870-1880. He was a professor of Sanitary Science and State Preventative Medicine for the University of Tennessee from 1880-1897.

Lindsley was instrumental in the development of Nashville's public school system, serving on the Board of Education from 1856-1860, and as superintendent of schools in 1866. He also worked for the passage of the law that established the Tennessee State Board of Health in 1877. He served as secretary of the board from its establishment until his death. He was also public health officer in Nashville from 1876 to 1880.