Born Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, January 1767
Died Dublin, Ireland, 14 September 1835
John Brinkley was an observational astronomer, mathematician, and director of the Dunsink Observatory. The illegitimate son of Sarah Brinkley, a butcher's daughter from Woodbridge in Suffolk, he attended a school in Benhall before going to Caius College, Cambridge. There he graduated as senior wrangler in 1788 and was the first Smith Prize winner in 1788. Brinkley was a fellow of Caius College (1788–1792) and was awarded an M.A. from Cambridge in 1791 and a D.D. from Dublin in 1806. He took holy orders while a fellow at Cambridge.
Brinkley had to work his way through university. One of his summer vacation jobs was as an assistant at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, while Nevil Maskelynewas Astronomer Royal. Brinkley stayed at the observatory from 23 June to 9 November 1787, and again from 27 January to 28 March 1788, before returning to Cambridge to complete his studies. In 1790, Maskelyne...
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Selected References
Anon. (November 1835). “Dr. Brinkley, Bishop of Cloyne.” Gentleman's Magazine 4: 547.
Anon. (1836). “Dr. Brinkley.” Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society 9: 281–282.
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Croarken, M. (2007). Brinkley, John. In: Hockey, T., et al. The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30400-7_204
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