John Cook (24 November 1771–28 November 1824) was a Scottish minister, historian and amateur artist. He was a pioneer in the field of Biblical Criticism.
Life.
He was born on 24 November 1771 in St Andrews the first son of John Cook and his wife, Janet Hill, sister of 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 (mainly townscapes in St Andrews) 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 (1808-1824)
He died in St Andrews on 28 November 1824 aged 54.
Family.
He married his cousin, Elisabeth Hill, daughter of George Hill. They had at least seven children.
He was father to John Cook (1807-1869) who in turn was father to Rachel Cook.
His brother was George Cook.
He married 2 July 1803, Elizabeth (died 12 September 1848), daughter of George Hill, D.D., Principal of St Mary's 
College, and had issue — 
References.
Citations.
 ;templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" / ;