biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1723–94)
|
| biography:
| Protestant clergyman, Continental Congressman, and educator, born in Gifford, East Lothian, E Scotland, UK. He studied at the University of Edinburgh, and served two Scottish parishes before emigrating to America (1768) to become president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton). During his long tenure (until 1794) he greatly strengthened both the college and the American Presbyterian Church. A firm supporter of the colonies in the dispute with Britain, he was the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. He served in the Continental Congress (1776–82) and, after the American Revolution, in the New Jersey legislature. Not widely known as a ‘founding father’, he played an influential role in establishing several major American institutions. |
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