Sir John Templeton was born in Winchester, Tennessee, went to Yale and then to Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. He was known for his astute investment skills on Wall Street and through the Templeton Mutual Funds. In 1987 he founded the John Templeton Foundation and he funded the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion.

As a pioneer in both financial investments and spiritual endeavours, John Marks Templeton has spent a lifetime encouraging open-mindedness. If he hadn't sought new paths, the native Tennesseean said "he would have been unable to attain so many goals".

Sir John Templeton died on July 8th 2008, aged 95

Life of Sir John Templeton