Winthrop (John) is born in Boston.

The great-great-grandson of Gov. John Winthrop, he graduates from Harvard College, then teaches mathematics and natural history there (1739-1779). The first American-born astronomer, he embarks on scientific expeditions to study sunspots, comets, and weather patterns. Winthrop is a founder of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he is the first person to receive an honorary doctorate from Harvard in 1774. Winthrop dies in Cambridge on May 3, 1779.