James Pierpont

James Pierpont or Pierrepont (January 4, 1659 – November 22, 1714) was a Congregationalist minister who is credited with the founding of Yale University in the United States. Early life Pierpont was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, on January 4, 1659. He was one of five children born to John Pierpont and his wife, Thankful (née Stow) Pierpont (1629–1664), daughter of John Stow. His father, who was born in London in 1619, was a Roxbury town officer and a deputy to the general court before his death in 1682. He attended The Roxbury Latin School and Harvard College. Career Pierpont became an ordained Congregationalist minister on July 2, 1685. In 1701, he secured the charter for The Collegiate School of Connecticut, which soon thereafter took the surname of its chief benefactor, Elihu Yale. He served as a founding trustee of Yale from October 16, 1701, until his death in 1714.