Alexander Leighton

Alexander Leighton (c. 15701649) was a Scottish medical doctor and puritan preacher and pamphleteer best known for his 1630 pamphlet that attacked the Anglican church and which led to his torture by King Charles I. Early life Leighton was born in Scotland about 1570. The Dictionary of National Biography states that he was descended from an ancient family possessed of the estate of Ulysham (Ulishaven) near Montrose. Although his father was a Roman Catholic, Leighton himself became a Presbyterian and a strong opponent of Catholicism. Medical career Leighton studied at the University of St Andrews (MA, 1587) and Leiden University (MD), where he studied under Professor van Herne. He worked as a medical doctor, but records show that he was prohibited from practice in 1619 and again in 1626. It is unknown whether these judgements were influenced by his religious views, though they predated the publication in 1628 of the pamphlet for which he was tortured.