BRA 
EJiatiat Chari&tr. Male. Calyx, none ; corolla, petals 
fix, nearly equal ; filaments three, with three twin antherae. 
Female. Calyx, none; corolla, fix-patted, three paits 
inferior; germ fuperior, with fix to eight (ligmas; cap- 
fules, fix-celled, fix-valved; feed, folitary. 
Species, x. Bradleja Sinica, or Chinefe bradleja : this 
is a dirub with leaves refembling the annona, but not ot a 
lucid furface. The fruclifications proceed from the axils 
of the leaves. The fruits, or feed-vefiTels, are comprefled, 
fmall, orbicular, driated, and hard. 
2. Bradleja Zeylanica, is a Ceylonefe fhrub. 
3. Bradleja Glochidium, is a fhrub which grows in the 
ifiands of the Southern or Pacific Ocean. 
BR AD'LEY (James), a celebrated aflronomer, born at 
Sherborne in Dorfetfiiire, in 1692, and educated at North- 
leach in the county of Gloucefter. He was admitted a 
commoner of Baliol-college, Oxford, March 15, 1710: 
where he took the degree .of M. A. January 21, 1716. 
He was ordained deacon and pried in 1719, and indituted 
the fame year to the vicarage of Briddow in Herefordflxire. - 
He never had any other preferment in the church, except 
the fmall re£tory or finecure of Landewy Welfry, in the 
county of Pembroke, and diocefe of St. David. He re¬ 
ceived his fird rudiments of the mathematics from his un¬ 
cle Dr. James Pound, who redded at his living of Wan- 
dead in Eflex, where Bradley was fome time curate : this 
gentleman was his mother’s brother, a man of Angular ca¬ 
pacity and genius, and eminent as a divine, a phyfician, 
and a mathematician. In the two former capacities he 
went to the Ead-Indies, in the company’s fervice; and was 
one of thofe who had the good fortune to efcape from the 
malfacre of the factory, on the ifland of Pulo Condore, in 
Cochin China. An account of this (hocking feene re¬ 
mains amongd Dr. Bradley’s papers, written by Dr. Pound, 
together with a journal kept by him on board the Rofe 
floop, until, after many difficulties and didrefifes, they ar¬ 
rived at Batavia the x8th of April, 1705. The public dif¬ 
fered much in this catadrophe, by the lofs of Dr. Pound’s 
papers, and other valuable curiofities colledted by him, 
which all perifhed in the conflagration ; as he had no time 
to fave any thing but his own life. With this relation Mr. 
Bradley at Wandead fird began the obfervations with the 
fedlor, which led to fuch important difeoveries, and ena¬ 
bled him to fettle the laws of the alterations of the fixed 
dars from the progreflive motion of light, and the nutation 
of the earth’s axis. On the death of Dr. Keill, he was 
chofen Savilian profedbr of adronomy in Oxford. On this 
promotion, he refigned the living of Briddow, and alfo the 
finecure of Lendewy Welfry, and henceforward devoted 
his time and dudies to adronomy; nor was he fooner known, 
than didinguiflied by the friendfhip of lord Macclesfield, 
Sir Ifaac Newton, Dr. Halley, and other great mathemati¬ 
cians and patrons of fcience. In 1730, he fucceeded Mr. 
Whitefide, as letture-reader of adronomy and experimen¬ 
tal philofophy in Oxford : which was a confiderable emo¬ 
lument to himfelf, and which he held till within a year or 
two of his death : when the ill dat-e of health made it ne- 
ceflary to refign it. A.t the deceafe of Dr. Halley, he was 
appointed regius profelfor of adronomy in the royal obfer- 
vatory at Greenwich. Upon this promotion he was ho¬ 
noured with the degree of dodlor of divinity, by diploma 
from Oxford, In 1747, hepubliflied his letter to the earl 
of Macclesfield, concerning an apparent motion obferved 
in fome of the fixed dars ; on account of which he obtain¬ 
ed the gold prize-medal from the Royal Society. It was 
in confequence of this letter, that, in 1748, George II. by 
his fign manual, direfled to the commiflioners and princi¬ 
pal officers of his navy, ordered the payment of ioool. to 
Dr. Bradley, for the purpofe of repairing the old inftru- 
ments in the obfervatory, and to provide new ones. This 
enabled him at once to furniffi it with the nobled and mod 
accurate apparatus in the known world, fuited to the dig¬ 
nity of the nation and the munificence of the royal donor : 
in the executive part of this ufeful work, thofe eminent 
artids Mr. George Graham and Mr. Bird deferve ho- 
Vol. III. No. 134. 
BRA 341 
nourable mention ; who contributed much towards the 
perfection of thofe indruments, which enabed Dr. Brad¬ 
ley to leave behind him the greated number of the mod 
accurate obfervations that were perhaps ever made by one 
mail. Nor was this the lad indance whereby his late maf- 
ter didinguiflied this royal adronomer ; for, upon his re¬ 
filling to accept the living of Greenwich from a confcien- 
tiaus fcruple, “ that the duty of a paftor was incompatible 
with his other dudies and neceffary engagements,” the king 
granted him an annuity of 250I. during pleafure: “in 
confideration of his great (kill and knowledge in the feve- 
ral branches of adronomy, and other parts of the mathe¬ 
matics, which have proved fo ufeful to the trade and navi¬ 
gation of this kingdom.” He was eleTed member of the 
Royal Society in 1751; of the academy of fciences at Paris, 
in 1748; of that at Peterfburgh, in 1754; of the aca¬ 
demy of fciences at Bologna, in 1757 ; and of the royal 
Pruffian academy of (ciences and belles-lettres foon after. 
By too clofe an application to his dudies, as is mod proba¬ 
ble, Dr. Bradley became afflidled, for near two years be¬ 
fore his death, with a grievous oppreffion on his fpirits, 
which quite put an end to his labours : his chief didrefs 
arofe from an apprehenfion, that he (hould furvive his ra¬ 
tional faculties; but this fo much dreaded evil never came 
upon him. In June 1762, he was taken with a fuppreflion 
of urine, occafioned by an inflammation in the kidneys, 
which brought him to his end the 13th ot July following. 
He died at Chalford in Gloucederdnre, in the feventieth 
year of his age, and lies interred at Minchinampton in the 
fame county, near to the remains of his wife and mother. 
In 1744, he had married a daughter of Samuel Peach, of 
Chalford, Efq. by whom he left one daughter. He was 
a man as amiable in his manners, and exemplary in his 
conduCi, as he was didinguiflied by application and (kill in 
the fciences. He was not fond of being an author, and 
hence few of his works were publifhed ; but his Oblerva- 
tions furvive him, and are complete and well preferved in 
thirteen folio and two quarto volumes; they contain Hie 
mod numerous and exad colleflion that was ever made. 
BRAD'NINCH, an ancient town in DevonOiire, on the 
great road from Exeter to Batli and Bridol, eight miles 
liorth-ead from the former, feven miles foutk-ead from 
Tiverton, eleven north-wed from Honiton, and .170 from 
London. It has a fmall market on Tluirfdays; and two 
fairs annually, on the 6th of May, and id of OTober, for 
toys and cattle. The town, nearly a mile in length, cop- 
fids principally of one long irregular dreet. It dands on 
a gravelly foil, about three quarters of a mile to the north 
of the river Culm, on the fide of a hill of eafy afeent, 
open to the fouth, but (heltered from the north and eaft 
winds by the hills gradually rifing for near a mile and a 
half above the town, to the height of five hundred feet, 
from whence is a mod delightful profpeft of fea and land 
for near forty miles; and, in clear weather, Torbay and 
the Bridol Channel are confpicuous. This is an ancient 
barony, belonging to the duchy of Cornwall. Richard II. 
in the fourteenth year of his reign, bedowed it on Sir Phi¬ 
lip Courtenay, of Powderham Cadle, ancedor to the pre- 
fent lord vifeount Courtenay ; and this is the only indance 
of the manor being held feparate from the duchy. On 
the breaking out of a rebellion in the reign of Henry VIII. 
th^s town was the head-quarters for the troops under the 
command of the marquis of Exeter, employed to adt' 
againd the rebels. The corporation confids of a mayor, 
recorder, twelve maders, a town-clerk, and two ferjeants 
at mace. The paper manufactory conditutes the principal 
trade of the place. It has fud'ered feveral times by dre, 
particularly on May 17, 1666, when the greated part of 
the town was burnt down. The church is an ancient Go¬ 
thic edifice, eighty-eight feet long, and forty-feven broad, 
confiding of a body and two fide aides. Sir Charles War¬ 
wick Bampfield, and Sir Thomas Dyke Ackland, have 
ancient and noble family feats in this neighbourhood. 
BRAD'SHAW (Henry), a poet of note in the (ixteenth 
century. Windanley tens 11s he was born in Cheder, and 
4 S . bred 
