Arts and literature

• John Gardner (composer) (born 1917), British composer
• John Gardner (novelist) (1933–1982), American novelist and educator, author of Grendel
• John Gardner (thriller writer) (1926–2007), British author of spy and mystery novels, former official James Bond author

Law, education and government

• John Gardner (delegate), (1747–1808), U.S. farmer, Rhode Island delegate to Continental Congress
• John Gardner (law) (born 1965), Professor of Jurisprudence, University of Oxford and Fellow of University College, Oxford, and Visiting Professor, Yale Law School, Yale University
• John Dunn Gardner (1811–1903), British Member of Parliament, 1841 to 1847
• John Fentress Gardner (1912–1998), American author and educator
• John J. Gardner (1845 – 1921), American politician representing New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives, 1885 to 1893
• John Sterling Gardner, Jr., American criminal, see List of individuals executed in North Carolina
• John W. Gardner (1912–2002), U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare during the Great Society, founder of Medicare and Public Broadcasting

Military

• John D. Gardner (general), Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army
• John Lane Gardner (1793–1869), Brigadier General in the US Army
• Philip John Gardner (1914-2003), English recipient of the Victoria Cross

Sports

• John Gardner (tennis), Former pro Australian who participated in the 1971 U.S. Open - Men's Singles

See also

• Jack Gardner (disambiguation)
• John Gardiner (disambiguation)