Cotton mather wrote a biography of
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Cotton Mather, Puritan Clergyman and Early American Scientist
Cotton Mather was a Puritan clergyman in Massachusetts known for his scientific studies and literary works, as wells as for the peripheral role he played in the witchcraft trials at Salem. He was a highly influential figure in early America.
As a leading scientific mind of his day, Mather was one of only two colonial Americans (the other being Benjamin Franklin) admitted to the prestigious Royal Society of London. Yet as a theologian, he also believed in non-scientific ideas, in particular the existence of witchcraft.
Fast Facts: Cotton Mather
- Known For: Early American Puritan clergyman, scientist, and influential author
- Born: March 19, in Boston, Massachusetts
- Died: February 13, , age 65
- Education: Harvard College, graduated , received master's degree
- Key Accomplishments: One of two American scientists named to prestigious Royal Society of London. Author of hundreds of works, ranging from pa
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Cotton Mather
Puritan clergyman (–)
The Reverend Cotton Mather FRS | |
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Mather, c.&#; | |
| Born | February 12, Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony |
| Died | February 13, (aged 65) Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay |
| Resting place | Copp's Hill Burying Ground, Boston |
| Education | Harvard College (AB, ; MA, ) |
| Occupation(s) | Minister, writer |
| Parent(s) | Increase Mather and Maria Cotton |
| Relatives | John Cotton (maternal grandfather) Richard Mather (paternal grandfather) Albert D. Mather (descendant)[1] |
Cotton MatherFRS (; February 12, – February 13, ) was a Puritan clergyman and author in colonial New England, who wrote extensively on theological, historical, and scientific subjects. After being educated at Harvard College, he joined his father Increase as minister of the CongregationalistOld North Meeting House in Boston, then part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, where he preached for the rest of his life. He has been referred to as the "first
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Cotton Mather, the minister of Boston's Old North church, was a true believer in witchcraft. In , he had investigated the strange behavior of four children of a Boston mason named John Goodwin. The children had been complaining of sudden pains and crying out together in chorus. He concluded that witchcraft, specifically that practiced by an Irish washerwoman named Mary Glover, was responsible for the children's problems. He presented his findings and conclusions in one of the best known of his works, "Memorable Providences." Mather's experience caused him to vow that to "never use but one grain of patience with any man that shall go to impose upon me a Denial of Devils, or of Witches."
As it happened, three of the five judges appointed to the Court of Oyer and Terminer that would hear the Salem witchcraft trials were friends of Mather and members of his church. Mather wrote a letter to one of the three judges, John Richards, suggesting how they might app