Person

Increase Mather

1639–1723 · 17th century

Increase Mather was a Puritan minister of Boston's North Church and president of Harvard College from 1685 to 1701. He went to London in 1688 to seek the restoration of Massachusetts's charter and in 1691 obtained a new charter from William III and Mary II, which created the Province of Massachusetts Bay. He nominated William Phips as governor and wrote a cautious critique of the evidence used in the Salem witch trials.

Increase Mather
Image: Van Veck Pinx · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Province of Massachusetts Bay

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Increase Mather. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/increase-mather
MLA
“Increase Mather.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/increase-mather. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Increase Mather.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/increase-mather.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Increase Mather’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/increase-mather (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻