John Aikin (1713–1780) was an English Unitarian scholar and theological tutor, closely associated with

Warrington Academy Warrington Academy, active as a teaching establishment from 1756 to 1782, was a prominent dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by those who dissented from the established Church of England. It was located in Warrington (then p ...

, a prominent

dissenting academy The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and seminaries (often institutions with aspects of all three) run by English Dissenters, that is, those who did not conform to the Church of England. They formed a significant part of England's edu ...

Life

He was born in 1713, in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. His father, a linen-draper, came originally from

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; sco, Kirkcoubrie; gd, Cille Chùithbeirt) is a town, parish and a Royal Burgh from 1455 in Kirkcudbrightshire, of which it is traditionally the county town, within Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The town lies southwest of C ...

, in southern Scotland. He was placed for a short time as French clerk in a mercantile house, but entered

Kibworth Kibworth is an area of the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, that contains two civil parishes in England, civil parishes: the villages of Kibworth Beauchamp and Kibworth Harcourt . At the 2011 census, Kibwor ...

Academy, then run by

Philip Doddridge Philip Doddridge D.D. (26 June 1702 – 26 October 1751) was an English Nonconformist (specifically, Congregationalist) minister, educator, and hymnwriter. Early life Philip Doddridge was born in London the last of the twenty children of ...

, for whom Aikin was the first pupil. He then went to

Aberdeen University , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

, where the anti-

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

opinions of the tutors gradually led him to Low

Arianism Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...

, as it was then called, which afterwards became the distinguishing feature of the Warrington Academy. Aberdeen subsequently conferred upon him the degree of

D.D. A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...

Returning from Aberdeen, he was ordained, and after a short period of work as Doddridge's assistant, he accepted a dissenting congregation at

Market Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, in the far southeast of the county, forming part of the border with Northamptonshire. Market Harborough's population was 25,143 in 2020. It is the admi ...

. Bad health made him take up teaching; he tutored

Thomas Belsham Thomas Belsham (26 April 175011 November 1829) was an English Unitarian minister Life Belsham was born in Bedford, England, and was the elder brother of William Belsham, the English political writer and historian. He was educated at the dissen ...

at Kibworth, which lies between Market Harborough and

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

; other pupils of Aikin were

Newcome Cappe Newcome Cappe (21 February 173324 December 1800), was an English unitarian divine. He served as the pastor of the York Unitarian Chapel, located in York, England. Cappe published various sermons and after his death his second wife, Catharine Capp ...

(at an earlier period),

Thomas Cogan Thomas Cogan (8 February 1736 – 2 February 1818) was an English nonconformist physician, a founder of the Royal Humane Society and philosophical writer. Life He was born at Rothwell, Northamptonshire on 8 February 1736, the half-brother of ...

, and Thomas Simpson. At Warrington Academy he was one of the first three tutors in 1757, teaching

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. In 1761, Aikin became tutor in

divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

, and was succeeded in his old duties by

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...

. Priestley says of the tutors: ‘We were all Arians, and the only subject of much consequence on which we differed respected the doctrine of

Atonement Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ex ...

, concerning which Dr. Aikin held some obscure notions.’ Aikin's health began to fail in 1778; soon afterwards he resigned his tutorship, and died in 1780.

Family

Aikin married Jane, daughter of

John Jennings John Jennings may refer to: Politicians * John Jenyns (1660–1717), MP * John Jennings (Burton MP) (1903–1990), British Conservative Party politician * John Jennings (American politician) (1880–1956), U.S. Representative from Tennessee, 1939 ...

, founder of the academy at Kibworth and a teacher who was influential on the dissenting educational tradition. Their two children were

John Aikin John Aikin (15 January 1747 – 7 December 1822) was an English medical doctor and surgeon. Later in life he devoted himself wholly to biography and writing in periodicals. Life He was born at Kibworth Harcourt, Leicestershire, England, son o ...

, physician and author, and

Anna Letitia Barbauld Anna Laetitia Barbauld (, by herself possibly , as in French, Aikin; 20 June 1743 – 9 March 1825) was a prominent English poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, and author of children's literature. A " woman of letters" who published in mu ...

, an author and literary critic who published in multiple genres, including poetry, essays, and

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aikin, John 1713 births 1780 deaths English Unitarians Dissenting academy tutors Anna Laetitia Barbauld