James Henley Thornwell, an American clergyman, born in Marlborough district, S. C, in 1811, died in Charlotte, N. C, Aug. 1, 1862. He graduated at the South Carolina college in 1829, studied theology, and commenced preaching as a Presbyterian minister to the Waxhaw church. In 1836 he was elected professor of logic and belles-lettres in the South Carolina college, and in 1838 became pastor of the Presbyterian church in Columbia. In 1840 he accepted the professorship of the evidences of Christianity and the chaplaincy of the college, and in May, 1852, took charge of the Glebe street church, Charleston. In December, 1852, he was elected president of the college, and in 1856 resigned to take a professorship in the Presbyterian theological seminary at Columbia. He published " Arguments of Romanists Discussed and Refuted" (New York, 1815); "Discourses on Truth" (1854); "On the Rights and Duties of Masters," and "The State of the Country" (1861); and numerous controversial articles in the " Southern Presbyterian Review," defending slavery and secession.

His collected works have been edited by the Rev. John B. Adger (2 vols. 8vo, Richmond, 1874).