Johann Christoph Schmidt

Johann Christoph Schmidt (3 March 1683 – 1763) was a musician and music copyist to Handel. After settling in London, he anglicized his name to John Christopher Smith; to avoid confusion with his son of the same name, he is referred to as John Christopher Smith sr. He may also be referred to as "John Christopher Smith the elder".

Born in Kitzingen, Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg, Schmidt probably studied at Halle, where he met Handel. He moved in 1705 to Nuremberg, and then, a couple of years later, to Ansbach. In Ansbach he was a wool merchant and amateur musician, until about 1716 when Handel visited and convinced him to move and become a professional musician. as Handel's treasurer, and through his music shop in Coventry Street.

Smith sr. and Handel worked well together and were close friends until the late 1740s, when Smith sr. tried to persuade Handel to co-operative with the Middlesex Opera Company. Relations between the two men grew worse, and they were estranged for much of the 1750s. John Smith jr. managed to reconcile them shortly before Handel's death.