George Horne

George Horne (November 1, 1730 - January 27, 1792), English divine, was born at Otham near Maidstone, and received his education at Maidstone school and University College, Oxford.

In 1749 he became a fellow of Magdalen, of which college he was elected president in 1768. As a preacher he attained great popularity, and was, albeit unjustly, accused of Methodism.

His reputation was helped by several clever if somewhat wrong-headed publications, including a satirical pamphlet entitled The Theology and Philosophy of Cicero's Somnium Scipionis (1751), a defense of the Hutchinsonians in A Fair, Candid and Impartial State of the Case between Sir Isaac Newton and Mr Hutchinson (1753), and critiques upon William Law (1758) and Benjamin Kennicott (1760).

In 1771 he published his well-known Commentary on the Psalms, a series of expositions based on the Messianic idea. In 1776 he was chosen vice-chancellor of his university; in 1781 he was made dean of Canterbury, and in 1790 was raised to the seat of Norwich. He died in Bath on January 27, 1792.

His collected Works were published with a Memoir by William Jones in 1799.