Governor William Phips

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Governor William Phips was the colonial governor of Massachusetts best known for overseeing and ultimately halting the Salem witch trials in 1692.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf colonial governor
human
military officer
politician
action dissolved Court of Oyer and Terminer in October 1692
established Court of Oyer and Terminer for Salem witch trials
appointedBy Mary II of England
William III of England
burialPlace London, England
commanded expedition against Port Royal (Acadia) in 1690
failed naval expedition against Quebec in 1690
conflict King William's War
countryOfCitizenship Kingdom of England
dateOfBirth 1651-02-02
dateOfDeath 1695-02-18
educatedIn self-educated in shipbuilding and navigation
era Colonial America
ethnicGroup English American
familyName Phips
givenName William
governedTerritory Maine (as part of Massachusetts Bay)
Plymouth Colony (as part of Massachusetts Bay)
Province of Massachusetts Bay
knownFor first royally appointed governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay
halting the Salem witch trials
mannerOfDeath natural causes
militaryBranch Royal Navy
militaryRank captain
nativeLanguage English
notableAchievement recovery of Spanish treasure from a sunken galleon near Hispaniola
notableWork oversight and later suspension of the Salem witch trials
occupation colonial governor
shipbuilder
treasure hunter
officeEndTime 1694-11-18
officeStartTime 1692-05-14
placeOfBirth English Massachusetts (Maine district)
Woolwich, Maine
placeOfDeath London, England
positionHeld Captain in the Royal Navy
Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay
sheriff of Maine (de facto local authority)
receivedTitle knighthood from King James II
religion Puritanism
residence Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony
sexOrGender male
significantEvent Salem witch trials
spouse Mary Spencer Hull


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