James McCosh (1811-1894), Scottish-American minister, philosopher, and college president, summarized the achievements of the Scottish philosophy and prepared Princeton for its transition from a small college to a modern university.

James McCosh was born on April 1, 1811, in Ayrshire, Scotland. He studied at the University of Glasgow and then at the University of Edinburgh, from which he received his master's degree in 1833. The following year he became a minister of the Established Church of Scotland. He later considered the greatest event in his life to have been his participation in the Free Church of Scotland movement; the Free Church seceded from the establishment in 1843.

While a student McCosh had developed a serious interest in natural theology and philosophy which culminated in his first book, The Method of the Divine Government, Physical and Moral (1850). This defense of supernaturalism and Christianity against materialism won him the chair of logic and metaphysics...