One of the Finches of Burley-on-the-Hill, John Finch was the younger brother of Lord Chancellor Sir Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham; their half-sister was the philosopher Lady Anne Conway of Ragley Hall. Anne and John Finch were pupils of Henry More. After Eton John Finch studied with More at Christ's College, Cambridge, and there met his lifelong companion Sir Thomas Baines. Following a Grand Tour of Italy, where they graduated in medicine from the University of Padua in 1656 Finch and Baines returned to Christ's as teachers in 1660, and fellows of the Royal Society. They returned to Italy again from 1665 to 1670 when Finch was Minister to the Ducal Court at Florence. He was appointed ambassador to the Sublime Porte of the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople in 1672, succeeding his uncle Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Winchilsea and his cousin Daniel Harvey. John Finch served as ambassador until 1681.
Finch was not a strong ambassador and was constantly outwitted by the Grand Viziers Ahmet Köprülü and Kara Mustafa.
Finch died of pleurisy in Florence, Italy in 1682, is buried in Christ's College and commemorated with Baines, who had died in Constantinople, with an elaborate monument.
Sir John Finch & Sir Thomas Baines are buried in Christ's College and commemorated with an elaborate monument.
Monument in the chapel of Christ's College Cambridge to Sir John Finch and Sir Thomas Baines
Sir John Finch (1626 – November 18, 1682) was ambassador of England to the Ottoman Empire. After Eton Finch studied with More at Christ's College, Cambridge, and there met his lifelong companion Sir Thomas Baines (1622 – September 5, 1680). Finch was appointed ambassador to the Sublime Porte of the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople in 1672. Baines died in Constantinople in 1680, Finch in Florence in 1682. Finch is buried in Christ's College and commemorated with Baines with a elaborate monument.
Other British residents during Finch's tenure included the reverend John Covel, merchant Sir Dudley North, Finch's consul in Smyrna, Paul Rycaut and their letters and memoirs contribute to our picture of Finch's reign.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Finch_%28ambassador%29
Baines was born about 1622 in Whaddon, Cambridgeshire and educated at Bishop's Stortford school. He studies at Christ's College, Cambridge under the tuition of Henry More, and took the degree of B.A. in 1642, and M.A. in 1649. An accident brought him under the notice of John Finch, then at the same college, and from this time they became inseparable friends. Having accompanied Finch to Italy, Baines was created doctor of physic at Padua, and he received the same degree from Cambridge on his return to England in 1660. On 8 March of the same year he was chosen Gresham Professor of Music, and in May he was elected, along with Sir John Finch, a fellow extraordinary of the College of Physicians, London. In 1663 he was elected an original Fellow of the Royal Society.
From 1664 to 1670 he was at Florence, where Finch was ambassador. On his appointment, in 1672, to accompany Sir John Finch to Tuscany, in the character of physician, he received the honour of knighthood. Some years afterwards he was transferred, along with Finch, to Constantinople. He made arrangements for discharging his professorial duties by deputy, but, on account of his prolonged absence, he was deprived of the chair before the news of his death, at Constantinople on 5 September 1680, had reached England.
Baines's remains were embalmed by Sir John Finch, who brought them with him on his return to England, and deposited them in the chapel of Christ's College, Cambridge. Finch died shortly afterwards, and was buried in the same grave, above which there is an epitaph in Latin to their joint memories by Henry More.
Portraits of Baines and Finch by the Florentine artist Carlo Dolci hang in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. The pair are further remembered in the poem Baines His Dissection by Scottish poet, David Kinloch.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Baines_%28p
Paperback: 760 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (July 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1500563323
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325
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Days of Love chronicles more than 700 LGBT couples throughout history, spanning 2000 years from Alexander the Great to the most recent winner of a Lambda Literary Award. Many of the contemporary couples share their stories on how they met and fell in love, as well as photos from when they married or of their families. Included are professional portraits by Robert Giard and Stathis Orphanos, paintings by John Singer Sargent and Giovanni Boldini, and photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnson, Arnold Genthe, and Carl Van Vechten among others. “It's wonderful. Laying it out chronologically is inspired, offering a solid GLBT history. I kept learning things. I love the decision to include couples broken by death. It makes clear how important love is, as well as showing what people have been through. The layout and photos look terrific.” Christopher Bram “I couldn’t resist clicking through every page. I never realized the scope of the book would cover centuries! I know that it will be hugely validating to young, newly-emerging LGBT kids and be reassured that they really can have a secure, respected place in the world as their futures unfold.” Howard Cruse “This international history-and-photo book, featuring 100s of detailed bios of some of the most forward-moving gay persons in history, is sure to be one of those bestsellers that gay folk will enjoy for years to come as reference and research that is filled with facts and fun.” Jack Fritscher
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