John Smith | |
|---|---|
| 3rd President of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations | |
| In office 1649–1650 | |
| Preceded by | Jeremy Clarke |
| Succeeded by | Nicholas Easton |
| 6th President of Providence and Warwick | |
| In office 1652–1653 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel Gorton |
| Succeeded by | Gregory Dexter |
| Personal details | |
| Died | July 1663 Warwick, Rhode Island |
| Spouse | Ann |
| Occupation | Stonemason, merchant, assistant, president, commissioner |
John Smith (died 1663) was an early colonial settler and President of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He lived in Boston, but was later an inhabitant of Warwick in the Rhode Island colony where he was a merchant, stonemason, and served as assistant. In 1649 he was selected to be President of the colony, then consisting of four towns. In 1652 he was once again chosen President, but the two towns on Rhode Island (Newport and Portsmouth) had been pulled out of the joint colony, so he only presided over the towns of Providence and Warwick. An important piece of legislation enacted during this second term in 1652 abolished the slavery of African Americans, the first such law in North America.