John Ewing

John Ewing (1732–1802) was an American Presbyterian pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia from 1759 until his death in 1802 and served as the provost (president) of the University of Pennsylvania from 1780 to 1802. He also was a noted mathematician. Early life Ewing and his twin brother, James, were born on June 22, 1732, in Cecil County, Province of Maryland. Their parents, Nathaniel Ewing and Rachel Porter, had emigrated to America several years earlier from Northern Ireland. Ewing married Hannah Sergeant in 1758, and they had 12 children. Ewing was educated at a Pennsylvania prep school run by the Rev. Francis Alison, a respected classical scholar, and at the College of New Jersey (today's Princeton University), where he graduated with the class of 1754. After working as a tutor at Alison's school, Ewing joined the faculty at the College of Philadelphia (today's University of Pennsylvania) in 1758 as a professor of ethics. He became a professor of natural philosophy in 1762.