Cotton Mather

Cotton Mather (born February 12, 1663, Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony [U.S.]—died February 13, 1728, Boston) was an American Congregational minister and author, supporter of the old order of the ruling clergy, who became the most celebrated of all New England Puritans. He combined a mystical strain (he believed in the existence of witchcraft) with a modern scientific interest (he supported smallpox inoculation). The son of Increase Mather and the grandson of John Cotton and Richard...