John Witherspoon

 John Witherspoon (February 5, 1723 until November 15th, 1794) was a Scottish American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States. Witherspoon took on the principles of Scottish common sense realism, and while president of the College of New Jersey (1768-1794; now Princeton University) became an influential figure in the formation of the United States' national character. Politically active, Witherspoon was a New Jersey delegate to the Second Continental Congress. He also signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4 1776. He was the only active clergyman who signed the Declaration and the first president of the college. He signed the Articles of Confederation later and was a supporter of the ratification process for the Constitution of the United States. John Witherspoon was the most senior of the children of Reverend James Alexander Witherspoon, and Anne Walker. Witherspoon is a descendant of John Welsh of Ayr, and John Knox. Even though the Knox claim is old, it has been long debated. He graduated from Haddington Grammar School in 1739 and was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree from the University of Edinburgh. He continued at the university to study divinity. In 1764, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in divinity from the University of St Andrews