John Starkie Gardner was born on October 14, 1844 or 1845, in London, England.

He was a botanist, geologist, metallurgist, and sculptor of decorative ironwork. He was a Fellow of the Geological Society of London and contributed many articles on geology and botany to various journals, e.g., Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society and Nature. He wrote the book "A Monograph of the British Eocene Flora" (1879). He also collected fossils. As an art metal worker, he owned the company J. Starkie Gardner & Co. (c. 1884-c.1930), famous at its time, with a portfolio of new designs executed in wrought iron, bronze, lead, silver, and gold as well as carrying out restoration projects. Among its many commissions, was making of the gates he designed for the Victoria and Albert Museum Mews, now the V&A Science entrance on Exhibition Road. He held a royal warrant from King Edward VII as “Workers in Iron, Brass and Bronze”. He published many books on ironwork, e.g., "Ironwork…” (2 v., 1893), "Foreign Armour in England" (1898), and "English Ironwork of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries" (1911).

In 1883, he married Caroline Cubitt (1851-1912) but got divorced in 1900. In 1914, he married Alice Mary Dring ( -1924). He died about 1830 in Brentford, Middlesex, England.