James McCosh

James McCosh (April 1, 1811 – November 16, 1894) was a philosopher of the Scottish School of Common Sense. He was president of Princeton University from 1868 to 1888. Born in Ayrshire, Scotland, McCosh studied at the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. He served as a minister in the Church of Scotland before joining the Free Church of Scotland after the Disruption of 1843. In 1850, he became Professor of Logic and Metaphysics at Queen's College, Belfast. In 1868, he was appointed president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), a position he held until 1888, after which he continued to teach philosophy. McCosh's philosophy aligned with Thomas Reid's common-sense philosophy, emphasizing direct realism and the role of intuition. He is particularly noted for his attempts to reconcile Darwinian evolution with Christian theology, arguing that evolution did not contradict divine design but rather glorified the designer. His work was influential among Presbyterian clergy in America. Several buildings and features at Princeton University are named in his honor.