Massachusetts politician. Royal governor of Massachusetts (1771-74).

His house was destroyed by rioters during the Stamp Act crisis in 1765.

While in London, Franklin came into possession of several letters written by Hutchinson advocating sterner treatment of the colonies by the British government (c. 1768). Franklin sent these letters to Thomas Cushing in Massachusetts (1773). The publication of the “Hutchinson Letters” raised controversy on both sides of the Atlantic.

A.B., Harvard (1727). Attended Albany Congress (1754).

Born in Boston. Married in 1734 to Margaret Sanford; five children.