Governor of the Connecticut Colony. He was born in Groton, County Suffolk, England, the son of John Winthrop, a founder and governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, by his first wife, Mary Forth. His paternal grandfather and father both served as Lords of the Manor of Groton. Winthrop attended the Edward VI School in Bury St. Edmunds and Trinity College, Dublin; studied law at the Inner Temple in London; and spent time on the European continent, all consistent with the education of an English gentleman. He travelled to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1631, co-founded by his father in the previous year. Once there, he was active politically, serving as an assistant (to the governor) and was a founder of what is now Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1633; established the Saugus Iron Works, completed in 1645; and founded New London, Connecticut in 1646. During a return trip to England he obtained the governorship (serving 1635-1639) of lands that had been granted to William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele, and Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke, establishing the Saybrook Colony in 1635, which was to merge with the Connecticut Colony in 1644. Winthrop served as governor of the Connecticut Colony in 1657-1658 and 1659 to 1676. He served as a commissioner of the United Colonies of New England, an alliance of the New England colonies, and it was while serving in that capacity that he died in Boston on April 6, 1676. Winthrop is frequently referred to by historians as John Winthrop the Younger in order to differentiate him from his father.
Governor of the Connecticut Colony. He was born in Groton, County Suffolk, England, the son of John Winthrop, a founder and governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, by his first wife, Mary Forth. His paternal grandfather and father both served as Lords of the Manor of Groton. Winthrop attended the Edward VI School in Bury St. Edmunds and Trinity College, Dublin; studied law at the Inner Temple in London; and spent time on the European continent, all consistent with the education of an English gentleman. He travelled to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1631, co-founded by his father in the previous year. Once there, he was active politically, serving as an assistant (to the governor) and was a founder of what is now Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1633; established the Saugus Iron Works, completed in 1645; and founded New London, Connecticut in 1646. During a return trip to England he obtained the governorship (serving 1635-1639) of lands that had been granted to William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele, and Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke, establishing the Saybrook Colony in 1635, which was to merge with the Connecticut Colony in 1644. Winthrop served as governor of the Connecticut Colony in 1657-1658 and 1659 to 1676. He served as a commissioner of the United Colonies of New England, an alliance of the New England colonies, and it was while serving in that capacity that he died in Boston on April 6, 1676. Winthrop is frequently referred to by historians as John Winthrop the Younger in order to differentiate him from his father.
Bio by: CMWJR
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