John witherspoon cause of death

John Witherspoon Full Biography

I was born in 1723 at Yester, Scotland, not far from Edinburgh, and was educated at Haddington, where my father was minister. After studies at the University of St. Andrews and the University of Edinburgh I served as Presbyterian minister at Beith, where I married Elizabeth Montgomery, and then at Paisley. I became deeply involved in the church debates and conflicts of my time. In 1766 I was invited by the school trustees to become president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton). At first I declined, but when called a second time, and after being personally asked by Richard Stockton who was visiting England in 1768, I accepted. In August 1768, after eleven weeks at sea on the brigantine Peggy, Elizabeth and I along with our five children arrived at Philadelphia and then went on to Princeton, where I was received with acclaim.

I found the college short of funds and with an inadequate number of teachers. Consequently, I had to teach most of the courses myself with the assistance of just two or three tutors until I could establish a complete f

John Witherspoon


1723-1794

Representing New Jersey at the Continental Congress

by Ole Erekson, Engraver, c1876, Library of Congress

Born:February 5, 1723
Birthplace:Gifford, Scotland
Education:Master of Arts, University of Edinburgh; Doctorate of Divinity, University of St. Andrews. (Clergyman, Author, Educator)
Work:President of College of New Jersey, 1768-1792; Delegate to the Continental Congress, 1776-1782; Twice elected to State Legislature of New Jersey.
Died:November 15, 1794

John Witherspoon brought some impressive credentials and a measure of public acclaim with him when he joined the colonies in 1768, as president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton).

Born in 1723, he received the finest education available to a bright young gentleman of that era. John attended the preparatory school in Haddington Scotland. He proceeded to Edinburgh where he attained a Master of Arts, then to four years of divinity school. At this point he was twenty. In 1743 he became a Presbyterian Minister at a parish in Beith, where he married, authored

John Witherspoon

American Founding Father and minister (1723–1794)

For other uses, see John Witherspoon (disambiguation).

The Reverend

John Witherspoon

Portrait by Charles Willson Peale, c. 1790

In office
1768–1794
Preceded byJohn Blair(acting)
Succeeded bySamuel Stanhope Smith
Born(1723-02-05)February 5, 1723
Yester, Gifford, East Lothian, Scotland
DiedNovember 15, 1794(1794-11-15) (aged 71)
Tusculum, Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
Resting placePrinceton Cemetery
NationalityAmerican/Scottish
RelativesJohn C. Breckinridge (great-grandson) Reese Witherspoon
EducationUniversity of Edinburgh (MA) University of St Andrews (D.D(Hon.))
OccupationClergyman and theologian
Signature

John Witherspoon (February 5, 1723 – November 15, 1794) was a Scottish-AmericanPresbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States.[1] Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense realism, and while president of the College of New Jersey (1768–1794; now Prin

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