William Phips
William Phips | |
|---|---|
| 1st Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay | |
| In office May 16, 1692 – November 17, 1694 | |
| Monarchs | William III and Mary II |
| Lieutenant | William Stoughton |
| Preceded by | Simon Bradstreet (as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony) |
| Succeeded by | William Stoughton (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 2, 1650/51 |
| Died | February 18, 1695 (aged 44) London, England |
| Spouse |
Mary Spencer Hull (m. 1673) |
| Signature | |
| Nickname | The New England Knight |
Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox officeholder with deprecated parameter "imagesize". Replace with "image_size".
Sir William Phips (or Phipps; February 2, 1651 – February 18, 1695) was the first royally appointed governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and the first native-born person from New England to be knighted. Phips was famous in his lifetime for recovering a large treasure from a sunken Spanish galleon but is perhaps best remembered today for establishing the court associated with the infamous Salem Witch Trials, which he grew unhappy with and was forced to prematurely disband after five months.