John Brinkley | |
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| Born | 1763 Woodbridge,Suffolk, England |
| Died | 14 September 1835(1835-09-14) (aged 71–72) Dublin, Ireland |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge (BA, MA) |
| Known for | Research works on astronomy and stellar formations |
| Awards |
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| Honours | Fellow of theRoyal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Institutions | Trinity College Dublin |
John Mortimer BrinkleyFRSE (1763 – 14 September 1835) was the firstRoyal Astronomer of Ireland and laterBishop of Cloyne.[1] He was the President of theRoyal Irish Academy (1822–35), the President of theRoyal Astronomical Society (1831–33), and in 1792, he became the secondAndrews Professor of Astronomy atTrinity College Dublin. Brinkley received theCunningham Medal in 1818, and theCopley Medal in 1824.[2]
Brinkley was born inWoodbridge, Suffolk[3] and was baptised there on 31 January 1763, the illegitimate son of Sarah Brinkley, a butcher's daughter.
On being admitted toCambridge, he was recorded as being the son of John Toler Brinkley, a vintner, but it is strongly suggested that his real father wasJohn Toler, 1st Earl of Norbury, Chief Justice of the Irish Court of Common Pleas.[4][2]
His exact date of birth is unknown; he has often been assigned the birth year 1763, as at least one obituary gives his age at death in 1835 as 72.[5] However, his memorial atTrinity College Dublin states that he died aged 70; also, he was recorded as being 17 uponmatriculation atGonville and Caius College,Cambridge in August 1783, both of which imply a slightly later birth year.
He graduatedBachelor of Arts (BA) in 1788 as SeniorWrangler andSmith's Prizeman, was elected a fellow of the college and was awardedCambridge Master of Arts (MA Cantab) in 1791. He wasordained atLincoln Cathedral in the same year.
In 1792 he became the secondAndrews Professor of Astronomy atTrinity College Dublin,[6] which carried the new title of Royal Astronomer of Ireland. He was the director at theDunsink Observatory from 1790 to 1827.[7] Together withJohn Law,Bishop of Elphin, he drafted the chapter on "Astronomy" inWilliam Paley'sNatural Theology.[8] His main work concerned stellar astronomy and he published hisElements of Plane Astronomy in 1808.
In 1818 he was awarded the prestigiousCunningham Medal of theRoyal Irish Academy[9] and in 1822 was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences.[10] He was awarded theCopley Medal by theRoyal Society in 1824.
Brinkley's observations that several stars shifted their apparent place in the sky in the course of a year - interpreted as evidence ofStellar parallax - were disproved atGreenwich by his contemporaryJohn Pond, theAstronomer Royal. In 1826, he was appointed Bishop of Cloyne inCounty Cork, a position he held for the remaining nine years of his life. Brinkley was elected President of theRoyal Astronomical Society in 1831, serving in that position for two years.[11]
He was also an honoraryFellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (HFRSE).[citation needed]
On May 24 May 1806 he was appointed aprebendary ofElphin Cathedral;[12] and on 5 June 1806 he becameRector ofDerrybrusk.[13] Later that yearTrinity College Dublin awarded him the degree ofDoctor of Divinity.[14] He was appointed theArchdeacon of Clogher in 1808;[15] and collated to theVicarage ofLaracor.[16] He was appointed bishop ofCloyne in 1836,[17] and there is a memorial to him inCloyne Cathedral.[18]
Brinkley married Esther, daughter of Matthew Weld of Molesworth Street,Sheriff of Dublin City, by his wife Elizabeth Kane, daughter of Nathaniel Kane (d. 1757) of Drumreaske, County Monaghan; Sheriff (1720) andLord Mayor of Dublin (1734); co-founder of the Bank of Kane & Latouche. Brinkley and his wife were the parents of two sons and a daughter: John (1793–1847), Rector of Glanworth, Diocese of Cloyne, who married Anna, second daughter and co-heir of Walter Stephens, of Hybla, County Kildare; Sarah Jane (1801–1827), second wife ofDr. Robert Graves, who died giving birth to a daughter; and Matthew (1797–1855) J.P., of Parsonstown House, County Meath, who married Harriet, a daughter ofRichard Graves and with her was the father ofFrancis Brinkley.[19]
Brinkley died in 1835 at Leeson Street,Dublin and was buried in Trinity College chapel. He was succeeded atDunsink Observatory byWilliam Rowan Hamilton.
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| Preceded by | Copley Medallist at theUniversity of Cambridge 1825 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Archdeacon of Clogher 1808–1825 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Cloyne 1826–1835 | Succeeded by |
