Thomas Dudley | |
|---|---|
| 3rd, 7th, 11th, and 14th Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony | |
| In office 1634–1635 | |
| Preceded by | John Winthrop |
| Succeeded by | John Haynes |
| In office 1640–1641 | |
| Preceded by | John Winthrop |
| Succeeded by | Richard Bellingham |
| In office 1645–1646 | |
| Preceded by | John Endecott |
| Succeeded by | John Winthrop |
| In office 1650–1651 | |
| Preceded by | John Endecott |
| Succeeded by | John Endecott |
| Commissioner for Massachusetts Bay | |
| In office 1643–1643 Serving with John Winthrop | |
| In office 1647–1647 Serving with John Endicott | |
| In office 1649–1649 Serving with Simon Bradstreet | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 October 1576 Yardley Hastings, Northamptonshire, England |
| Died | 31 July 1653 (aged 76) Roxbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony |
| Spouses | Dorothy Yorke
(m. 1582; died 1643)Katherine Hackburne (m. 1644) |
| Parent |
|
| Profession | Colonial administrator, governor |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of England |
| Branch/service | Forces of William Compton, 1st Earl of Northampton |
| Battles/wars | |
Thomas Dudley (12 October 1576 – 31 July 1653) was a New England colonial magistrate who served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dudley was the chief founder of Newtowne, later Cambridge, Massachusetts, and built the town's first home. He provided land and funds to establish the Roxbury Latin School and signed Harvard College's new charter during his 1650 term as governor. Dudley was a devout Puritan who opposed religious views not conforming with his. In this, he was more rigid than other early Massachusetts leaders like John Winthrop, but less confrontational than John Endecott.
The son of a military man who died when he was young, Dudley saw military service himself during the French Wars of Religion, and then acquired some legal training before entering the service of his likely kinsman, the Earl of Lincoln. Along with other Puritans in Lincoln's circle, Dudley helped establish the Massachusetts Bay Colony, sailing with Winthrop in 1630. Although he served only four one-year terms as governor of the colony, he was regularly in other positions of authority.
Dudley's daughter Anne Bradstreet (1612–1672) was a prominent early American poet. One of the gates of Harvard Yard, which existed from 1915 to 1947, was named in his honor, and Harvard's Dudley House is named for the family, as is the town of Dudley, Massachusetts.