Hugh Binning

Hugh Binning (1627–1653) was a Scottish minister and philosopher. Born near Stewarton in Ayrshire, he was so precocious that at nineteen he was elected professor of philosophy at the University of Glasgow, and at twenty-two he became minister of Govan. When Cromwell occupied Scotland in 1651 Binning took part in a public debate with the general's chaplains and is said to have bested them, Cromwell asking who the learned young man was. He died of consumption at twenty-six. His sermons and lectures, including The Common Principles of the Christian Religion and The Sinner's Sanctuary, were published by friends after his death and reprinted for two centuries.