Of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, only one was a minister. John Witherspoon was an outstanding 18th-century preacher and patriot who made an indelible mark on the infant American Republic. How he came to do so is a fascinating story.

Born in 1723 in the Scottish village of Gifford, near Edinburgh, John Witherspoon was the son of pious parents. His father was a minister and his mother was the daughter of a minister. At age 13, Witherspoon enrolled at the University of Edinburgh. In 1739, having just reached the age of 16, Witherspoon defended his thesis and received his diploma. But he stayed at the university four more years, focusing his studies on theology.

In 1745 Witherspoon was ordained and installed as a minister of Beith parish in the west of Scotland. He was just 22 years old. Two years later he married Elizabeth Montgomery, and they eventually had 10 children, only five of whom survived childhood.

Witherspoon flourished as a parish parson. He practiced what was called the plain style of preaching; he stressed that preachers should be forceful, yet restrained in the pulpit. They should avoid any unnatural rants or ridiculous gestures.

Witherspoons stature as a theologian and writer grew rapidly. He was named moderator of the presbytery, spoke before the Synod of Glasgow and was elected to the General Assembly. By the 1760s, Witherspoon was the most popular preacher in Britain, and many of Scotlands largest churches tried to recruit him. He declined all such invitations  except one from abroad.

In 1766 the trustees of the College of New Jersey, later known as Princeton, invited Witherspoon to become the president of their young institution. In 1768 the Witherspoons and their five children crossed the Atlantic and landed at Philadelphia. At Princeton, then a small village of about 50 houses, the students  all 90 of them  gave Witherspoon a rousing welcome.

In his first commencement address, President Witherspoon insisted that religion without learning produces fanaticism, while learning without religion breeds skepticism. His hope was to enable learning to inform faith and vice versa.

Witherspoons arrival in Princeton coincided with rising tensions between Britain and the Colonies. The parson president wholeheartedly supported the American cause. In 1776, he was elected to the Continental Congress.

Distinguished for his thick Scottish accent, Witherspoon impressed the members of the Congress with the depth of his knowledge of political theory, his command of the language, his passion and his eloquence.

A Frenchman who observed the speeches in the Continental Congress stated that Witherspoon had a certain air that distinguished its possessor, compels the deference of others, and places him higher above his fellow than girth, honors, or even merit. When the Congress debated the issue of declaring independence, Witherspoon urged his colleagues to declare that we are firmly determined never to submit to (the claims of Great Britain), and we deliberately prefer war with all its horrors, and even extermination itself, to slavery riveted on us and our posterity.

Five months after the Declaration was signed, British troops captured Princeton and ransacked the college. They burned Witherspoon's library and ignited his rage. His anger at the British increased when James, his eldest son, was killed in the battle of Germantown in 1777.

During the Revolution, Witherspoon spent most of his time in Philadelphia serving in Congress. He served on more than 100 governmental committees during the Revolution, and he wrote many of Gen. George Washingtons addresses and proclamations.

After the war ended, Witherspoon remained politically active. He was a delegate to the New Jersey convention that ratified the new federal constitution in 1787. He also served in the state legislature, and he helped organize the national Presbyterian Church in 1789. In that year, there were 177 Presbyterian ministers in the new nation, and 97 of them were Princeton graduates, 52 of them Witherspoons own students.

Witherspoons first wife died in 1789. Two years later he married Ann Dill, a 24-year-old widow, when he was almost 70. Witherspoon and his new wife had two daughters, one of whom died in infancy.

Not long after his second marriage, Witherspoons health began to fail. In 1792 a fall from his horse left him blind. Still, every third Sunday, he entered the Princeton pulpit and preached one of his old sermons from memory.

On Nov. 15, after a brief illness, he died at his country home, Tusculum, not far from Princeton. He was 73. Always a person of restless energy, resolute action and keen interest in current affairs, Witherspoon, even at the end, refused to give up. His last request was to have the latest newspaper read to him.

John Witherspoon led a full and fulfilling life. His piety and patriotism served the nation well, and his dedication to liberal learning, his church and his country provides a model for all of us.