John Templeton

John Marks Templeton was born on 29 November 1912, in the town of Winchester, Tennessee.

He was a successful businessman, establishing:

• Templeton Growth, Ltd. (investment fund) in 1954;
• the John Templeton Foundation;
• the Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities in 1972.

He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1987 for his philanthropic efforts.

Personal

• He attended Yale University and pledged the Zeta Psi Fraternity, graduating in 1934 as a top scholar in his class.
• He was named a Rhodes Scholar to Balliol College at Oxford from which he graduated with a M.A. degree in law.
• He is a lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church.
• He was a trustee on the board of Princeton Theological Seminary, the largest Presbyterian seminary, for 42 years and served as its chair for 12 years.

• He married the former Judith Folk in 1937 and the couple had three children ? John, Anne and Christopher. She died in February, 1951.
• He married Irene Reynolds Butler in 1944. She passed away in 1993.

• He is a naturalized British citizen living in Nassau, the Bahamas.