John Huston Finley was born on a farm east of Grand Ridge and attended Grand Ridge Elementary School. He graduated from Ottawa High School as valedictorian in 1882 and earned his undergraduate degree at Knox College in 1887. He went on to Johns Hopkins University for graduate school and, at age 29, returned to Knox College as its president, serving in that post through 1899. In 1900 he accepted the newly established Chair of Politics at Princeton University. In 1903 he became president of City College of New York, and in 1913 was appointed Commissioner of Education for New York state. While on leave from that position, he headed a Red Cross delegation to Palestine in 1918-1919. In 1921, Finley became Associate Editor of the New York Times and rose to Editor in Chief in 1937. He was an accomplished speaker who presented many addresses at colleges in America and abroad. He was widely published in journals of the day and wrote eight books, including A Pilgrimage in Palestine and The French in the Heart of America. He received 32 honorary degrees. He and his wife, Martha Boyden of Sheffield, Illinois, had four children. Finley is buried at Princeton Cemetery in New Jersey, and his parents are buried in Grand Ridge Cemetery.