John Winthrop (106)

John Winthrop (1714–4 May 1779) scientist, educator, and slaveholder, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1768. A scion within the Winthrop legacy, John Winthrop was born in Boston, son of Adam Winthrop III, and great, great grandson of Boston’s founding governor by the same name. His family lineage all but assured his entrance into Harvard College while dedication to his studies propelled him once he arrived. After granting him a B.A. in 1732 and an A.M. in 1735, Harvard College went one step further and awarded (over some objections) the young Winthrop with the endowed chair of the Hollis Professorship of Mathematics and Natural Experimental Philosophy in 1738. Winthrop proved a credit to the institution and spent the rest of his life in the service of science and education. His interests ranged from astronomy and mathematics to seismology. Within the scientific community he sought out London’s Royal Society and published a number of pieces in their Transactions. An affable Winthrop cultivated a network of colleagues with whom he had rigorous exchanges, including Benjamin Franklin with whom he liked to discuss astronomy and electricity, specifically the utility of Franklin’s lightning rod. This cadre rallied to Winthrop’s aid in 1764 after a fire in Harvard Hall destroyed all of his equipment and provided the necessary materials to rebuild and replace the materials. Winthrop eschewed politics and administrative duties, serving only briefly in either capacity towards the end of his life. He married twice, first to Rebecca Townsend in 1746 with whom he had four sons. After Rebecca’s death in 1753, Winthrop married Hannah Fayerweather Tollman in 1756. Winthrop died in 1779 and, after a large funeral with a eulogy by Mercy Otis Warren, he was buried at King’s Chapel in Boston. (DNB, PI)