John Bainbridge, MD, was the son of Robert Bainbridge, of Ashby de la Zouch, by his wife Ann, daughter of Richard Everard, of Shenton, co Leicester, and was born at Ashby in 1582. He was educated at the grammar school of Ashby, whence he was transferred to Emmanuel college, Cambridge, under the tuition of his kinsman, Dr Joseph Hall, afterwards bishop of Norwich. He took the degrees in arts and medicine, AB 1603, AM 1607, MD 1614. He then returned to his native county, where he practised physic, and kept a grammar school. He next removed to London, and was admitted a Licentiate of the College of Physicians 6th November, 1618. In the following year he published An Astronomical Description of the late Comet, from the 18th November, 1618, to the 16th December following. 4th. Lond., 1619. This introduced him to the notice of Sir Henry Savile, who was then founding the astronomical professorship at Oxford, and who at once appointed Dr Bainbridge to that office. He thereupon removed to Oxford, was entered as a master commoner of Merton college, and on the 7th July, 1620, was incorporated doctor of medicine as he had stood at Cambridge. In 1635 he was appointed by Merton college, superior reader of Linacre's lectures.

Dr Bainbridge died on the 3rd November, 1643, at his house in Oxford, opposite the church of Merton college. His body was removed thence to the public schools, where an oration in praise of the deceased and of his attainments having been pronounced, he was borne to the church of Merton college, and buried close to the high altar. His epitaph there is as follows:-

Si cupias viator, quis et quantus hic jacet,
alibi quæras oportet, dicere satis nequeo;
Britannia tote viri famam non capit;
Ne cætera tamen ignores, in rem tuam pauca hem accipe.
JOHANNES BAINBRIDGIUS
Vir famæ integerrimæ, et doctrinæ incomparabilis,
Medicinæ Professor et Matheseos;
Morborum tam felix expugnator novorum,
quam sagax indagator syderum;
Quem primum Astronomiæ Professorem
et dignum Savilio Collegam
in Mathematicis Prælecturis, quas magnificè erexerat,
prudens hominum et librorum æstimator elegit
Savilius:
Quem Cantabrigiæ educatum
Academia Oxoniensis benignè fovit ut suum,
defunctum publicè deflevit ut par utriusque ornamentum;
qui Scaligerum felicius correxit,
quàm Scaliger emendavit
tempora,
in non levem literarum jacturam immaturus obiit,
MDCXLIII.
Abi jam, cætera quære vel ab exteris.

William Munk