The Rev. Frederick Charles Cook was born at Milbrook Dec. 1, 1804 and died at Exeter June 22, 1889. He studied at St. John's College. Cambridge (B.A., 1831; M.A., 1844), and was ordained in 1839. He was inspector of schools, prebendary of St. Paul's from 1856-65, preacher at Lincoln's Inn from 1860-80 and prebendary in Lincoln cathedral 1861-64. He became chaplain to the Queen in 1857, canon residentiary of Exeter in 1864, chaplain to the bishop of London in 1869 and precentor of Exeter 1872.
Cook was a learned Biblical scholar and a remarkable linguist, acquainted, it is said, with fifty-two languages. His most important work was done for The Speaker's Commentary (10 vols., London, 1871-82), which was planned in 1864 to refute the theories advanced by Bishop Colenso and modern critics. Canon Cook was chosen editor in chief and, in addition to his work as editor, wrote personally the introductions to Exodus, the Psalms, and the Acts, the entire commentary on Job, Habakkuk, Mark, Luke, and I Peter, and part of that on Exodus, the Psalms, and Matthew. He criticized severely the work of the New Testament revisers in The Revised Version of the First Three Gospels Considered in its Bearings upon the Record of our Lord's Words and of Incidents in his Life (1882) and in Deliver Us from Evil (1883).
His last works were The Origins of Religion and Language (1884) and Letters Addressed to the Rev. H. Mace and the Rev. J. Earle (1885), in which he argued for the unity of language and a primitive divine revelation to man.