James Logan (October 20 1674-October 31 1751), a statesman and scholar, was born in Lurgan, County Armagh, Ireland of Scottish descent and Quaker parentage. In 1689, the Logan family moved to Bristol, England where, in 1693, James replaced his father as schoolmaster. In 1699, he came to the colony of Pennsylvania aboard the Canterbury as William Penn's secretary. Later, he supported proprietary rights in Pennsylvania. After advancing through several political offices, including commissioner of property (1701), receiver general (1703), clerk (1701), and member (1703) of the provincial council, he was elected Mayor of Philadelphia in 1722. During his tenure as mayor, Logan allowed Irish Catholic immigrants to participate in the city's first public Mass. He later served as the colony's chief justice from 1731 to 1739, and in the absence of a governor, became acting governor of Pennsylvania from 1736 to 1738.

Meanwhile, he engaged in various mercantile pursuits, especially fur trading, with such success that he became one of the wealthiest men in the Colonies. He collected a personal library of over 3,000 volumes. He wrote numerous scholarly papers published by the American Philosophical Society and European journals.

Logan was also a natural scientist whose primary contribution to the emerging field of botany was a treatise that described experiments on the impregnation of plant seeds, especially corn. He tutored John Bartram, the American botanist, in Latin and introduced him to Linnaeus. He was also a mentor of Benjamin Franklin, who published Logan's translation of Cicero's essay "Cato Maior de Senectute".

Logan died in 1751 and was buried at the site of Arch Street Friends Meeting House (built in 1804).

In Philadelphia, the Logan neighborhood and the landmark Logan Square are named for him. His 1725 summer estate "Stenton" (now a National Historic Landmark, operated as a museum) is located in Logan area.

James 'Jimmy' Logan (born June 24, 1870 in Troon, Scotland; died May 25, 1896 in Loughborough, England) is a former professional footballer. He is most famous for scoring a hat-trick in the 1894 FA Cup Final for Notts County in a 4-1 victory over Bolton Wanderers.

James Logan (born 8 August 1885, died 1958) was a former professional footballer who is best known for his time with Aston Villa. Before playing for Villa Logan played for Queen's Park. After leaving Villa Logan moved to Rangers.

James Logan (1864 - 1931) was an education official in Fremont, California. The James Logan High School built in Union City in 1959 is named after him.