Basire, Isaac (1608-03-25 - 1676-10-13)

The exact date of birth of Isaac Basire is not known. Baptised in 1608 in Rouen, France, he studied at the School of Erasmus in Rotterdam and Leiden University. By 1629, he had settled permanently in England. Basire was ordained deacon and priest in May 1629. He was awarded the degree of B.D. from the University of Cambridge on 1 July 1635, where he had been admitted fellow-commoner at St John's College. He proceeded D.D. in 1640. Basire was granted a series of livings after his ordination; he became rector of Eaglescliffe, Durham in 1636; canon of Durham in 1643; rector of Howick, Durham in 1644; and rector of Stanhope, Durham in 1645. He also served as archdeacon of Northumberland. In 1646, he served as a chaplain to King Charles I. During the English Civil Wars, his preferments were sequestered; they were restored in 1660. He had travelled frequently in the decade before the Restoration, serving as chaplain to the British embassy in Constantinople and acting as secretary to George Racoczi II, prince of Transylvania. Isaac Basire died on 13 October 1676 at Durham, and was buried in the cathedral churchyard.