James McCosh was born in Ayrshire, Scotland on April 1, 1811. He graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1829 and the University of Edinburgh in 1834. An ordained minister, he wrote 23 books on religion, philosophy and education. He and his wife Isabella Guthrie McCosh had one son and two daughters.

After working as a professor in Queen's College, Belfast, Northern Ireland, he become Princeton University's eleventh president.

A brilliant but somewhat forgetful man he sometimes did not recognize the name or face of students and professors. He died in Princeton, New Jersey on November 16, 1894 while writing his autobiography. He was 83 years old.