Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet, was born on May 27, 1876, in Montrave, Fife, Scotland.

He was a Scottish Unionist politician. He was educated at Trinity College, Glenalmond; the University of Edinburgh; and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He became a Lieutenant of the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, served in South Africa during the Second Boer War (1899-1902), and was awarded the Queen's medal. He was a member of the Fife county council from 1901 to 1910. He fought in World War I and, after the war, he re-entered politics. Gilmour was elected as a Member of Parliament for East Renfrewshire (1910-1918) and Glasgow Pollok (1918-1940). In 1920, he inherited the title Baron Gilmour of Lundin and Montrave. He served as a Junior Lord of the Treasury (1921-1922), a member of the Privy Council in 1922, and Scottish Unionist Whip (1919-1922, 1924). He was appointed as Secretary for Scotland in 1924 and became the first Secretary of State for Scotland in 1926. In 1931, Gilmour became Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and, in 1932, Home Secretary, a post he held until 1935. From 1938 until he died in 1940, he served as Minister of Shipping. He also acted as Rector of Edinburgh University from 1926 to 1929. He was awarded honorary degrees from the University of Glasgow (1925), the University of Edinburgh (1927), and the University of St. Andrews (1929).

In 1902, he married Mary Louise Lambert (1878–1919), and in 1920, he remarried Violet Agnes Lambert (1889–1977). He died on March 30, 1940, in London, England.