William Stoughton (judge)

William Stoughton
Portrait by an unknown artist, c. 1700
Acting Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay
In office December 4, 1694 – May 26, 1699
Preceded by	Sir William Phips
Succeeded by	Earl of Bellomont
In office July 22, 1700 – July 7, 1701
Preceded by	Earl of Bellomont
Succeeded by	Massachusetts Governor's Council (acting)
Personal details
Born	1631 Kingdom of England or Massachusetts Bay Colony (accounts differ)
Died	July 7, 1701 (aged 69–70) Dorchester, Suffolk County, Province of Massachusetts Bay
Signature

William Stoughton (1631 – July 7, 1701) was a New England Puritan magistrate and administrator in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. He was in charge of what have come to be known as the Salem Witch Trials, first as the Chief Justice of the Special Court of Oyer and Terminer in 1692, and then as the Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Judicature in 1693. In these trials he controversially accepted spectral evidence (based on supposed demonic visions). Unlike some of the other magistrates, he never admitted to the possibility that his acceptance of such evidence was in error.

After graduating from Harvard College in 1650, he continued religious studies in England, where he also preached. Returning to Massachusetts in 1662, he chose to enter politics instead of the ministry. An adept politician, he served in virtually every government through the period of turmoil in Massachusetts that encompassed the revocation of its first charter in 1684 and the introduction of its second charter in 1692, including the unpopular rule of Sir Edmund Andros in the late 1680s. He served as lieutenant governor of the province from 1692 until his death in 1701, acting as governor (in the absence of an appointed governor) for about six years. He was one of the province's major landowners, partnering with Joseph Dudley and other powerful figures in land purchases, and it was for him that the town of Stoughton, Massachusetts was named.