BAINBRIDGE (John)
, an eminent physician, astronomer, and mathematician. He was born in 1582, at Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire. He studied at Cambridge, where having taken his degrees of Bachelor and Master of Arts, he returned to Leicestershire, where for some years he kept a grammar-school, and at the same time practised physic; employing his leisure hours in studying mathematics, especially astronomy, which had been his favourite science from his earliest years. By the advice of his friends, he removed to London, to better his condition, and improve himself with the conversation of learned men there; and here he was admitted a fellow of the college of physicians. His description of the comet, which appeared in 1618, greatly raised his character, and procured him the acquaintance of Sir Henry Savile, who, in 1619, appointed him his first professor of astronomy at Oxford. On his removal to this university, he entered a master commoner of Merton college; the master and fellows of which appointed him junior reader of Linacer's lecture in 1631, and superior reader in 1635. As he resolved to publish correct editions of the ancient astronomers, agreeably to the statutes of the founder of his professorship, that he might acquaint himself with the discoveries of the Arabian astronomers, he began the study of the Arabic language when he was above 40 years of age. Before completing that work however he died, in the year 1643, at 61 years of age.
Dr. Bainbridge wrote many works, but most of them have never been published; those that were published, were the three following, viz:
1. An Astronomical Description of the late Comet, from the 18th of November 1618, to the 16th of December following; 4to, London, 1619.—This piece was only a specimen of a larger work, which the author intended to publish in Latin, under the title of Cometographia.
2. Procli Sphæra, Ptolomæi de Hypothesibus Planetarum liber singularis. To which he added Ptolomy's Canon Regnorum. He collated these pieces with ancient manuscripts, and gave a Latin version of them, illustrated with figures: printed in 4to, 1620.
3. Canicularia. A treatise concerning the Dog-star, and the Canicular Days: published at Oxford in 1648, by Mr. Greaves, together with a demonstration of the heliacal rising of Sirius, the dog-star, for the parallel of Lower Egypt. Dr. Bainbridge undertook this work at the request of archbishop Usher, but he left it imperfect; being prevented by the breaking out of the civil war, or by death.
There were also several dissertations of his prepared for and committed to the press the year after his death, but the edition of them was never completed. The titles of them are as follow:
1st, Antiprognosticon, in quo *man<*>ikh_s Astrologicæ, Cœlestium Domorum, et Triplicitatum Commentis, magnisque Saturni et Jovis (cujusmodi anno 1623, et 1643, contigerunt, et vicesimo fere quoque deinceps anno, ratis naturæ legibus, recurrent) Conjunctionibus innixæ, Vanitas breviter detegitur.
2nd, De Meridionorum sive Longitudinum Differentiis inveniendis Dissertatio. |
3d, De Stella Veneris Diatriba.
Beside the foregoing, there were several other tracts, never printed, but left by his will to archbishop Usher; among whose manuscripts they are preserved in the library of the college of Dublin. Among which are the following: 1. A Theory of the Sun. 2. A Theory of the Moon. 3. A Discourse concerning the Quantity of the Year. 4. Two volumes of Astronomical Observations. 5. Nine or ten volumes of Miscellaneous Papers relating to Mathematical subjects.
