Editing Robin Cook (section)

==Early life==

Robin Cook was born in the [[Bellshill Maternity Hospital|County Hospital, Bellshill]], Scotland,<ref name=bbc>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4127676.stm|title=Obituary: Robin Cook|work=BBC News|date=6 August 2005|access-date=13 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140126020115/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4127676.stm|archive-date=26 January 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> the only son of Peter and Christina Cook (née Lynch) (29 May 1912 – 20 March 2003). His father was a chemistry teacher who grew up in [[Fraserburgh]], and his grandfather was a miner before being [[blacklist]]ed for being involved in a strike.

Cook was educated at [[Aberdeen Grammar School]] and, from 1960, the [[Royal High School, Edinburgh|Royal High School]] in Edinburgh.<ref name=bbc/> At first, Cook intended to become a [[Church of Scotland]] minister, but lost his faith as he discovered politics. He joined the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] in 1965 and became an [[atheist]]. He remained so for the rest of his life.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

He then studied [[English literature]] at the [[University of Edinburgh]], where he obtained a postgraduate [[Master of Arts (Scotland)|MA]] with [[British undergraduate degree classification|Honours]] in [[English Literature]]. He began studying for a PhD on [[Charles Dickens]] and Victorian serial novels, supervised by [[John Sutherland (author)|John Sutherland]], but gave it up in 1970.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

In 1971, after a period working as a secondary school teacher, Cook became a tutor-organiser of the Workers' Educational Association for [[Lothian]],{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} and a local [[councillor]] in Edinburgh.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} He gave up both posts when he was elected as a [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) on his twenty-eighth birthday, in February 1974.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}