James Brown was an English clergyman and academic, Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge

Pembroke College, Cambridge

Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...

 from 1770 until his death. A close friend of Thomas Gray

Thomas Gray

Thomas Gray was a poet, letter-writer, classical scholar and professor at Cambridge University.-Early life and education:...

, he acted with William Mason

William Mason (poet)

William Mason was an English poet, editor and gardener.He was born in Hull and educated at Hull Grammar School and St John's College, Cambridge. He was ordained in 1754 and held a number of posts in the church....

 as executor of Gray's will.

Life

His father was a London goldsmith. He was educated at Christ's Hospital

Christ's Hospital

Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...

, and matriculated at Pembroke College in 1726, graduating B.A. in 1730 and M.A. in 1733. He became a Fellow of Pembroke in 1735. Ordained as Anglican priest in 1736, he became vicar of Shepreth

Shepreth

Shepreth is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, lying halfway between Cambridge and Royston.-History:The parish of Shepreth is roughly-rectangular and covers 1318 acres...

 from 1737. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge in 1771-2. From 1771 he was vicar of Stretham

Stretham

Stretham is a small village and civil parish south-south-west of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England, about by road from London. Its main attraction is Stretham Old Engine, a steam-powered pump used to drain the fens. The pump is still in use today although converted to electric power. It has open...

.