John Knox was born in 1514 in Haddington, East Lothian, into a family of modest means. His father, William Knox, was a merchant, and his mother, Mary, was a daughter of the Laird of Haddington. The family background provided Knox with a solid grounding in the values of hard work and scholarship, which would later inform his theological pursuits. Growing up in a town that was increasingly influenced by the early stirrings of the Reformation, young Knox was exposed to new ideas that would shape his thinking and convictions for the rest of his life.
John Knox was born in 1514 in Haddington, East Lothian, into a family of modest means. His father, William Knox, was a merchant, and his mother, Mary, was a daughter of the Laird of Haddington. The family background provided Knox with a solid grounding in the values of hard work and scholarship, which would later inform his theological pursuits. Growing up in a town that was increasingly influenced by the early stirrings of the Reformation, young Knox was exposed to new ideas that would shape his thinking and convictions for the rest of his life.