Thomas Danforth
17th-century Massachusetts Bay Colony magistrate and politician / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Thomas Danforth (baptized November 20, 1623 – November 5, 1699) was a politician, magistrate, and landowner in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A conservative Puritan, he served for many years as one of the colony's councilors and magistrates, generally leading opposition to attempts by the English kings to assert control over the colony.
Thomas Danforth | |
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Deputy Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony | |
In office 1679–1686 | |
Preceded by | Simon Bradstreet |
Succeeded by | William Stoughton (as deputy president of the Dominion of New England) |
In office 1689–1692 | |
Preceded by | Francis Nicholson (as lieutenant governor of the Dominion of New England) |
Succeeded by | William Stoughton (as lieutenant governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay) |
Personal details | |
Born | bapt. November 20, 1623 Framlingham, Suffolk, England |
Died | November 5, 1699 (aged 76) Province of Massachusetts Bay |
Profession | Magistrate |
Signature | |
He accumulated land in the central part of the colony that eventually became a portion of Framingham, Massachusetts. His government roles included administration of territory in present-day Maine that was purchased by the colony.
Danforth was a magistrate and leading figure in the colony at the time of the Salem witch trials, but did not sit on the Court of Oyer and Terminer. Despite this, he is inaccurately depicted in Arthur Miller's 1953 play The Crucible and its movie adaptations as doing so. He is presented as a harsh and domineering governor, apparently conflated with William Stoughton,[original research?] who does not appear in Miller's play (although he and Samuel Sewall are mentioned briefly by Danforth in Act 3, Scene 1). In reality, Danforth is recorded as being critical of the conduct of the trials, and played a role in bringing them to an end.[1]