John Witherspoon

 John Witherspoon (born February 15 1723, (feb. 5, 1722 Old-fashioned Gifford East Lothian, Scot.-–died November 15, 1794 in Tusculum N.J. U.S.), was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister and president of College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). He was also the first person to be appointed to the church of Beith and, in 1757, became the pastor of Paisley. A conservative churchman, he frequently involved himself in ecclesiastical controversies, in which he showed himself to be an excellent dialectician and adept speaker. In 1768 he left Paisley to assume the presidency of the College of New Jersey. The American Presbyterian Church welcomed him warmly and he was a major contributor to the church's revitalization and expansion. He was a vigorous college president, extending the curriculum, providing scientific equipment and working to increase the amount of endowment and enrollment.From the moment he arrived, Witherspoon was an enthusiast about America, and in the dispute with the homeland, he stood without compromising on the side of the colonists. He was the chairperson of the Somerset County Committee of Correspondence (1775 to 1776) and was a member of two provincial congresses. In 1776, he was one of the delegate to the Continental Congress (1776–79, 1780–82) He was a vocal supporter of the passage of an independent resolution.