Robert Ranken or Rankin had studied at Cambridge University and was elected as Regent (Professor) of Philosophy at Edinburgh University in 1625. He was installed in November 1625. In the 1630s when a new prayer book and liturgy was introduced to the Church of Scotland, modelled on that of the Church of England, the National Covenant was revived against episcopacy and for the restoration of the Presbyterian model. Ranken however was one of the few professors within the University who did not bind himself to the Covenant, and he soon incurred the displeasure of the Covenanters. In September1638 Robert Ranken was forced to resign his Chair.
From the guide to the Lectures of Regent Robert Ranken (fl. 1630), 1634-1637, (Edinburgh University Library)
