| Authorised form of name | Winthrop; John (1606 - 1676); colonial governor and physician |
| Dates | 1606 - 1676 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Groton Manor, Suffolk, England, Europe |
| Date of birth | 12 February 1606 |
| Place of death | Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony, North America |
| Date of death | 5 April 1676 |
| Research field | Chemistry |
| Alchemy |
| Activity | Education:
King Edward VI grammar school at Bury St Edmunds; Trinity College, Dublin (admitted 1622); Inner Temple (admitted 1625)
Career:
Joined the Duke of Buckingham's expedition to the Isle de Rhe, La Rochelle (1627); travelled in Italy and Turkey within the Levant company; joined his father in New England (1631); Assistant to the Governor of Massachusetts (1634, 1635, 1640, 1641, 1644-1649); returned to England (1641); travelled to gain support for a plantation scheme for a New London (1642); moved to Pequot (1650); Magistrate of Connecticut (1651-), Deputy Governor (1659) and Governor (1660-1676); established a travelling medical clinic; came to England to obtain a charter for Connecticut (1662) |
| Membership category | Original Fellow |
| Date of election | 20/05/1663 |
| Proposer | William Brereton |
| RSActivity | Committee and panels:
Mechanical Committee (1664); Committee for the Histories of Trades (1664) |
| Other Royal Society activity | Involved in producing an 'Account of Refining of Gold' for the Society (1662); Produced a report on the production of pitch and tar in New England (1662); Correspondent to the Society from the colonies in North America (1660s) and invited to report back to the Society on natural history in New England (1664) |
| Relationships | Parents: John Winthrop, governor of Massachusetts, and Mary Forth
Married: 1) Martha Fones (first cousin); 2) Elizabeth Reade
Children: eight overall, incl. Fitz John Winthrop |
| OtherInfo | Winthrop developed close relationships with fellow natural philosophers and alchemists of his time, such as Abraham Kuffler. Winthrop used his research interests and knowledge for agricultural improvements and medical supply in his Puritan colony. He was put in charge of establishing a colony, as commissioned by the proprietors of the Warwick patent. The plan was briefly halted during the Pequot War, a brutal conflict between the Pequot people against English settlers in Massachusetts Bay, the Saybrook colonies and their Native American allies. Winthrop's plans for ironworks projects saw him as a negotiator and ally with Native American people to establish passage into lands relevant to mining silver-bearing lead. Generally, Winthrop is regarded as defending parochial interests against centralisation and stalling the installation of a larger imperial authority in Connecticut until his death. |
| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DAB; ODNB
References:
G H Turnbull, 'Samuel Hartlib's Influence on the Early History of the Royal Society' in NR 1953 vol 10 pp 101-130
E N da C Andrade, 'The Birth and Early Days of the Philosophical Transactions' in NR 1965 vol 20 pp 9-27
Bernard Bailyn, '1776: The British Dimension' in NR 1976-7 vol 31 pp 179-199
R W Home, 'The Royal Society and the Empire: the colonial and Commonwealth Fellowship. Part 1. 1731-1847' in NR 2002 vol 56 pp 307-332
Notes:
The election date is Winthrop's re-election date into the Society after the grant of the second charter in April 1663. All Fellows admitted in a two-month window after this charter, until 22 June 1663, are considered Original Fellows. He was previously admitted into the Society on 1 January 1662. |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/3884948 |
| Code | NA7404 |
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| RBO/1/41 | 'The manner of making Tarr and Pitch in New England' by John Winthrop | nd |
| LBO/3/136 | Copy letter from Henry Oldenburg, London, to John Winthrop in New England | 26 March 1670 |
| LBO/2/106 | Copy extract of a letter from John Winthrop, Hartford in New England, to Robert Moray | 18 August 1668 |
| EL/W3/22a | List of items sent from New England by John Winthrop | nd |
| NLB/67/605 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to [John Farquhar] Fulton Esq.; Bradmore Road, Oxford | 26 January 1925 |
| CLP/10iii/21 | Copy of paper, 'Queries touching the preserving of timber now growing, and planting more in his Majesty's dominions of England and Wales' by unknown author | [1670s] |
| DM/5/101 | A list of benefactors to the Museum, to the value of £5 or upwards at one time | c.1737 |
| EL/W3/20 | Letter, from John Winthrop to Robert Moray, dated at Hartford, New England | 18 August 1668 - 26 August 1668 |
| MC/1/145 | Letter from Thomas Lindall Winthrop, Boston, to Sir John Frederick William Herschel, Secretary of the Royal Society | 12 September 1826 |
| RBO/2i/19 | Observations of how maize is cultivated in New England by John Winthrop | 31 December 1662 |
| MC/1 | Volume 1 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1800-1831 |
| RBO/1/47 | 'Concerning the building of ships in New England by Mr Winthrop' | 24 September 1662 |
| EL/W3/24 | Letter, from John Winthrop [to the Royal Society], dated at Boston | 11 October 1670 |
| EL/O2/49 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Mr [John] Winthrop | 11 April 1671 |
| MC/6/96 | Letter from Robt [Robert] Winthrop, Albermarle Hotel, to Sir Henry Holland, [Vice-President of the Royal Society] | 18 June 1860 |
| EL/W3/26 | Letter, from John Winthrop to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Boston | 26 October 1670 |
| MC/6 | Volume 6 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1859-1863 |
| EL/W3/25 | Letter, from John Winthrop to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Boston | 11 October 1670 |
| EL/W3/27 | Letter, from John Winthrop to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Salem in Massachusetts colony | 25 September 1673 |
| CLP/3i/23 | Paper, 'A description of the artifice and making of tarr and pitch in New England, and the materialls of which it is made' by [John] Winthrop | [1662] |
| EL/W3/21 | Letter, from John Winthrop to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Hartford, New England | 12 November 1668 |
| RBO/2ii/18 | Observations of how maize is cultivated in New England by Mr Winthrop | 31 December 1662 |
| EL/O1/8 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to John Winthrop of New England, dated at London | March 1664 |
| EL/O2/26 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Mr [John] Winthrop in New England, dated at London | 26 March 1670 |
| EL/W3/22 | Letter, from John Winthrop to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Boston | 4 October 1669 |
| EL/W3/23 | Letter, from John Winthrop to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Boston | 26 August 1670 |
| CLP/10i/3 | Paper, 'Of maiz [maize]' by Mr Winthorp [John Winthrop] | [1662] |