Background
John Bonnycastle was born in Buckinghamshire, in about 1750.
John Bonnycastle was born in Buckinghamshire, in about 1750.
Nothing is known of his family or early life, but he went to London where he established an Academy. He became a tutor to the two sons of the Earl of Pontefract at Easton in Northumberland. Between 1782 and 1785, he was appointed Professor of Mathematics at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, where he remained until his death on 15 May 1821.
He was a prolific writer, and wrote for the early volumes of Rees"s Cyclopædia, about algebra, analysis and astronomy.