John Winthrop (12 January 1588– 26 March 1649) obtains a royal charter, along with other wealthy Puritans, from King Charles I for the Massachusetts Bay Company and leads a group of English Puritans to the New World in 1630.

He had been elected the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony the year before.

Between 1639 and 1648, he is voted out of the governorship and then reelected a total of 12 times.

Although Winthrop is a respected political figure, he is criticized for his obstinacy regarding the formation of a general assembly in 1634, and he clashes repeatedly with other Puritan leaders like Thomas Dudley, Rev.

Peter Hobart and others.