John Cook (moderator)

Very Rev Prof John Cook DD (1739-1816) was a Scottish minister and amateur artist who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1816.
Life.
He was Professor of Humanity at St Andrews University from 1769 to 1773 and Professor of Moral Philosophy 1773 to 1814.
In 1816 he succeeded Very Rev Lewis Gordon as Moderator and he in turn was succeeded by Gavin Gibb in 1817.
His artistic works are commonly rear view portraits of St Andrews characters.
He died in St Andrews and is buried in the churchyard of St Andrews Cathedral just west of St Rules Tower.
Family.
In 1770 he married Janet Hill, sister of his colleague, Rev George Hill. Their children included Rev George Cook and Rev Prof John Cook, Professor of Hebrew at St Andrews. His son John Cook was also an artist, and the two are often confused. The son was more accomplished and generally painted townscape views. His son John's year of birth is sometimes shown as 1771 rather than 1770 to disguise his birth being less than 9 months after his parents marriage.
His grandson (son of George) was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1859.
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