BAINBRIDGE, (Jona) an eminent physician, astronomer, and mathemati cian. He was born in 1582, at Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire. lie studied at Cambridge, where, having taken his de grees of bachelor and master of arts, he returned to Leicestershire, kept a gram mar school, and at the same time prac tised physic, employing his leisure hours in studying mathematics, especially as tronomy, which had been his favourite science from his earliest years. By the advice of his friends, he removed to Lon don, 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 universi ty, 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 pub lish correct editions of the ancient astro nomers, agreeably to the statutes of the founder of his professorship, that he might acquaint himself with the discove ries of the Arabian astronomers, he be gan the study of the Arabic language when he was above 40 years of age. Be
fore he had completed that work 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 De scription of the late Comet, from the 18th of November, 1618, to the 16th of De cember following ;" 4to, London, 1619. 2. " Procli Sphxra, Ptolomxi de Hypo thesibus 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, hut he left it imperfect ; being pre vented 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.