Loch Goin Covenanters memorial
John Howie (1735–1793) was a Scottish biographer.
He was an East Renfrewshire farmer from Lochgoin, who claimed descent from an Albigensian refugee.
Works

Howie wrote Lives of the Protestant worthies of Scotland from Patrick Hamilton, the first martyr, under the title of Biographia Scoticana,first published in 1775. It became a classic of Scottish Church History. He revised and enlarged the work, 1781-5, and this edition was reissued, with notes by W. McGavin, in 1827. In 1870 the Rev. William Henderson Carslaw revised Howie's text and published it, with illustrations and notes, and a short biographical introduction; and in 1876 a further illustrated edition appeared, with biographical notice compiled from statements made by Howie's relatives, and an introductory essay by Dr. Robert Buchanan.
A Collection of Lectures and Sermons by Covenanting Clergymen was issued by Howie in 1779, with an introduction by himself. He edited in 1780 Michael Shields's Faithful Contendings Display'd, an account of the Church of Scotland between 1681 and 1691. He also wrote on the Lord's Supper, patronage, and other topics, and prefaced and annotated other religious works.

Albigensians were otherwise known as Cathars and originated from the Languedoc region of France.
Campbell