The eldest son of William Dalrymple, of Norwich, and Marianne Bertram, his wife. John was one of six sons, and two of his brothers, Archibald Dalrymple (qv) and Donald Dalrymple (qv) became Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons. He studied under his father and at Edinburgh. He made a special study of the surgery of the eye, and in 1832 was elected Assistant Surgeon to the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital, becoming full Surgeon in 1843. He was elected FRS in 1850, and a Member of the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1851. He attained a large practice and a great reputation for skill in his specialty. He died on May 2nd, 1852. A bust of John Dalrymple executed for subscribers by Thomas Campbell was presented to the College on Nov 9th, 1853. There is also a bust in the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, which also treasures a collection of preparations of diseases of the eye which he formed. Publications: *The Anatomy of the Human Eye, being an Account of the History, Progress, and Present Knowledge of the Organ of Vision in Man*, 8vo, London, 1834. *The Pathology of the Human Eye*, London, 1851-2, in which are a number of first-rate coloured plates.