Thomas Danforth

Thomas Danforth
Deputy Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
In office 1679–1686
Preceded by	Simon Bradstreet
Succeeded by	William Stoughton (as deputy president of the Dominion of New England)
In office 1689–1692
Preceded by	Francis Nicholson (as lieutenant governor of the Dominion of New England)
Succeeded by	William Stoughton (as lieutenant governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay)
Personal details
Born	bapt. November 20, 1623 Framlingham, Suffolk, England
Died	November 5, 1699 (aged 76) Province of Massachusetts Bay
Profession	Magistrate
Signature

Thomas Danforth (baptized November 20, 1623 – November 5, 1699) was a politician, magistrate, and landowner in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A conservative Puritan, he served for many years as one of the colony's councilors and magistrates, generally leading opposition to attempts by the English kings to assert control over the colony.

He accumulated land in the central part of the colony that eventually became a portion of Framingham, Massachusetts. His government roles included administration of territory in present-day Maine that was purchased by the colony.

Danforth was a magistrate and leading figure in the colony at the time of the Salem witch trials, but did not sit on the Court of Oyer and Terminer. Despite this, he is inaccurately depicted in Arthur Miller's 1953 play The Crucible and its movie adaptations as doing so. He is presented as a harsh and domineering governor, apparently conflated with William Stoughton,^{[original research?]} who does not appear in Miller's play (although he and Samuel Sewall are mentioned briefly by Danforth in Act 3, Scene 1). In reality, Danforth is recorded as being critical of the conduct of the trials, and played a role in bringing them to an end.^[1]