John Witherspoon

This article is about the signer of the Declaration of Independence, for the actor see John Witherspoon (actor) .

John Witherspoon

John Knox Witherspoon (born February 5, 1723 in Gifford , Scotland , † November 15, 1794 at Princeton , New Jersey ) was a Scottish Presbyterian , after his emigration to America Dean of the College of New Jersey (today's Princeton University ) and 1776 one the signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence .

Life

Witherspoon was born in Gifford, Haddingtonshire . He attended Haddington Grammar School, studied at the University of Edinburgh and received a Masters Degree in Philosophy in 1739. In 1768 he emigrated to New Jersey , where he became President of the College of New Jersey . He became a member of the Continental Congress .

In November 1778 the College of New Jersey buildings were destroyed by the British. After the war of independence , Witherspoon organized the reconstruction. He went blind in 1792.

Actress Reese Witherspoon has stated that she is a direct descendant of John Witherspoon. In any case, she has stated that several times in interviews, but her ancestry has not been confirmed by genealogists who focus exclusively on the descendants of the signatories of the American Declaration of Independence.

literature

• Witherspoon, John . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 28 : Vetch - Zymotic Diseases . London 1911, p. 759 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).

Web links

Commons : John Witherspoon  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Gabriella Boston: Trolley-eye view of the city. In: The Washington Post , March 26, 2006, Family Times, Field Trips, p. D03
2. ↑ John Witherspoon . In: The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence . December 11, 2011 ( dsdi1776.com [accessed December 20, 2018]).