• Name: Rutt, John Towill
• Gender: Male
• Birth Date: 4  April  1760
• Death Date: 3  March  1841
• Occupation: politician
• Occupation: writer

Rutt edited Priestley's works; he was also a member of the Society for Constitutional Information. He lived in Bexley for a good part of his life but was connected to Spitalfields Unitarian Chapel and was a campaigner for vaccination. The identification is supported by the entry 25 September 1830 where Godwin records that Rutt is 70. On 25 October 1826 he notes ' meet Towel Rutt'. The inclusion of the middle name might simply be because it had been 12 years since they last met.

The entries in the 1790s are to a dinner at Brand Hollis' and a visit to Muir being held at Woolwich, awaiting transportation (Rutt was active in helping Muir while in prison). There is a close group of Rutt entries in 1812. One entry is to Tho.Rutt and has been left uncoded but we have assumed that the Rutts, 5 Rutts, and the ordinary Rutt entries do indicate John Rutt, although we cannot be wholly certain of this. The spate of meetings in 1827 are mainly adv entries at the Museum, probably concerning Rutt's research on Priestley. In addition, 'J T Rutt' calls on Godwin 5 February 1828.

See also a letter from Godwin to Thomas Noon Talfourd, writer, judge, and politician, dated 25 October 1827, (Pforzheimer G 0368) : asking if he could be put in touch with Mr. Rutt, whom he met at the British Museum (and whom he had seen nine or ten times in the preceding twelve months).

• Pforzheimer Collection, Godwin to Thomas Noon Talfourd, 25 October 1827, G 0368.
• DNB.

This table lists the people this person is most frequently noted with in the diary.