Increase Mather

Timeline

1. 1639–1664Boston · BostonYoungest son of Richard Mather, he entered Harvard at about twelve and received his bachelor's degree in 1656. He later studied at Trinity College Dublin, earning a master's, and served briefly as chaplain to the garrison on Guernsey. After the Restoration he refused to conform to the terms of the established church, returned to New England in 1661, married Maria, daughter of John Cotton, in 1662, and was formally ordained minister of Boston's Second Church in 1664.
2. 1685–1692London · LondonFrom 1685 he served as president of Harvard (later styled president), though he continued to prioritize the affairs of the Boston church. After the old charter was revoked and Governor Andros's regime collapsed, he sailed for England in 1688, witnessed the Glorious Revolution, negotiated with the government of William III, and in 1691 secured the new charter for Massachusetts, also helping to nominate the first royal governor, William Phips.
3. 1692–1723Boston · BostonAfter returning to America he still believed witchcraft might exist, but his 1693 work Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits Personating Men emphasized that spectral evidence alone was insufficient for conviction; together with the opinions of other ministers, this helped cool the trials. He left the Harvard presidency in 1701, continued his pastorate, and died in Boston in 1723.