John Edwin Horton was a surgeon in Auckland, New Zealand. He was born in London on 1 June 1931, the son of Edwin Horton, a member of the family which co-owned the *New Zealand Herald*, and Celeste Helene Horton née Bouillon. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the family returned to New Zealand. Horton was a boarder at St Peter's School in Cambridge in the Waikato region of the North Island, and then at King's College, Auckland. In 1950 he began studying medicine at Otago University, qualifying in 1955. He was a house surgeon in Auckland for two years and then travelled to the UK for postgraduate studies. He gained his fellowship of both the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of England and Edinburgh. In 1964 he returned to New Zealand and was appointed as a surgical tutor specialist at Green Lane Hospital, a full-time surgical position. He also taught at the Auckland sub-faculty of the University of Otago. In 1968 Horton joined the New Zealand Armed Services' medical team in Vietnam at the Bong Son Hospital, Binh Dinh province, where he treated civilians as well as military casualties. After completing his tour of duty, he returned to Auckland and was appointed as a part-time member of staff at Green Lane Hospital. After retiring from Green Lane, he continued his private practice at St Mark's Clinic in Remuera. He finally retired in the early 1990s. He was member of the Northern Club and the Auckland Golf Club. He was also chairman of the board of governors of his old school, St Peter's. He was married twice. His first wife was Margaret née Ross. They had three children. In 1976, he married Judith née Turner. They had two children. John Edwin Horton died on 3 April 2012, aged 80.