John Blagrave was an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 mathematician

Mathematician

A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....

.

He was probably born in the vicinity of Reading

Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

 in 1561, to John Blagrave of Bulmershe Court

Bulmershe Court

Bulmershe Court is, today, a campus of the University of Reading, situated in what is now the Reading suburb of Woodley, in the English county of Berkshire...

 at Earley

Earley

Earley is a town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. The Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area, for purposes of local government it falls within the Borough of Wokingham, outside of the jurisdiction of Reading Borough Council. The name...

 and his wife, Anne, daughter of Sir Anthony Hungerford of Down Ampney

Down Ampney

Down Ampney is a medium-sized village located in Cotswold district in Gloucestershire, in England.It is off the A417 which runs between Cirencester and Faringdon on the A420, and about 5 km north of Cricklade,...

 in Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

. He was educated at Reading School

Reading School

Reading School is a state-funded, selective academy school for boys in the English town of Reading. It is notable for tracing its history back to the school of Reading Abbey, making it one of the oldest schools in England. There are no tuition fees for day pupils, and boarders only pay for food and...

 and St John's College, Oxford

St John's College, Oxford

__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...

, although he never graduated from the latter.

He published 4 mathematical books in his lifetime:

• The Mathematical Jewel (1585)
• Baculum, Familliare Catholicon sive Generale (1590)
• Astrolabium Uranicum Generale (1596)
• The Art of Dialling (1609)

In 1591 his father bestowed on him the lands at Southcote Manor, in what is now the Reading suburb of Southcote

Southcote, Berkshire

Southcote is a suburb and local government ward of Reading in the English county of Berkshire.The suburb of Southcote is bounded to the north by the Bath Road and Prospect Park, to the west by the more recently developed suburb of Fords Farm, to the south by the Holy Brook and the water meadows of...

.

He died at Reading on 9 August 1611 and is buried in St Laurence's Church

St Laurence's Church, Reading

St Laurence's Church is a Church of England mission and former parish church in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is situated alongside the site of Reading Abbey, formerly bounded by the main Compter Gate to the south and the Hospitium of St John to the north...

 there. As he died without issue, the lands at Southcote Manor passed to his nephew Daniel Blagrave

Daniel Blagrave

Daniel Blagrave was a prominent resident of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. He was Member of Parliament for the Parliamentary Borough of Reading over several periods between 1640 and 1660, and was also one of the signatories of King Charles I's death warrant.Daniel...

, most famous as one of the signatories of King Charles I's

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 death warrant.

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