John Cook (historian)


The Rev Prof John Cook was a Scottish minister, historian and amateur artist. He was a pioneer in the field of Biblical Criticism.

Life

He was born on November 24 1770 in St Andrews the first son of Very Rev John Cook and his wife, Janet Hill, sister of Rev George Hill. He was the first of 12 children. His birthdate is sometimes shown in records as 1771 to disguise his birth being less than 9 months after his parents marriage.
He studied Divinity at St Andrews University under his father and was licensed to preach by the Church of Scotland. In 1793 he became minister of Kilmany.
A technically skilled album of his drawings from 1797 are in the possession of the University of St Andrews.
In 1802 he was appointed Professor of Hebrew at St Andrews University. He was later given the first university Chair in Biblical Criticism
He died in St Andrews on 28 November 1824 aged only 54.

Family

He married his cousin, Elisabeth Hill, daughter of George Hill. They had at least seven children.
He was father to Rev Prof John Cook who in turn was father to Rachel Cook.
His brother was Rev Prof George Cook.

Publications