David Cowell (1704–1760) was a Presbyterian minister and briefly the acting president of Princeton University.[1] A graduate of Harvard in 1732, Cowell was a trustee of the college. He was the acting president from 1757 to 1758 and also oversaw the negotiations that led to Samuel Davies becoming the fourth president of the college.[2] He was the first pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Trenton, New Jersey, serving from 1736 to 1760.[3] He died in 1760 and was buried in the churchyard of First Presbyterian Church.[3]