William Bradford

Born in Austerfield, Yorkshire, around March 1590, William Bradford was orphaned young and grew up in rural England. As a boy he was drawn to the Separatist movement, and when pressure on dissenters increased, he joined fellow believers in Leiden in the Dutch Republic before sailing to North America on the Mayflower in 1620.

After the death of Plymouth's first governor, John Carver, Bradford became the colony's leading political figure and served as governor for much of the next three decades. He played a central role in helping the colony survive its difficult early period and in shaping its civic life.

Bradford is also remembered as a writer. His chronicle Of Plymouth Plantation remains a vital firsthand record of the Pilgrims, their Atlantic crossing, their first years in New England, and their religious sense of purpose, making him important both as a colonial leader and as an early American author.