Long Description:From Wikipedia:
Mather was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts on June 21, 1639 to Rev. Richard Mather and Kathrine Holt Mather following their participation in the Great Migration from England due to nonconformity with the Church of England. He was the youngest of six brothers: Samuel, Nathaniel, Eleazar, Joseph, Timothy.
His parents were highly religious, and three of his brothers (Samuel, Nathaniel and Eleazar) also became ministers.
Education
In 1651 Mather was admitted to Harvard where he roomed with and studied under John Norton. When he graduated (1656) with a B.A., he began to train for the ministry and gave his first sermon on his eighteenth birthday. He quickly left Massachusetts and went to Ireland, where he studied at Trinity College in Dublin for a M.A.. He graduated with it in 1659 and spent the next 3 years as a chaplain attached to a garrison in the Channel Islands.
Harvard was to later award him the first honorary degree in the New World, a S.T.D., in 1692.
Establishing himself in Massachusetts
In 1661, with the advent of the English Restoration and resurgence of Anglicanism, Increase returned to Massachusetts, where he married Maria Cotton. She was his stepsister by virtue of his father's marriage to Sarah Hankredge, the widow of John Cotton and mother of Maria. She gave birth to Cotton Mather in February, 1663.
He published in 1676 A Brief History of the Warr with the Indians in New-England, a contemporary account of King Philip's War.
He was ordained as minister of the North Church (the original Old North meetinghouse, not to be confused with the Anglican/Episcopal Old North Church), whose congregation included many of the upper class and governing class, on May 27, 1664. He held this post until he died. By virtue of his position he quickly became one of the most influential people in the colony, both religiously and politically.
Harvard
In June 11, 1685 he became the Acting President of Harvard University (then Harvard College) and steadily advanced: A little over a year later on July 23, 1686 he was appointed the Rector. On June 27, 1692 he became the President of Harvard, a position which he held until September 6, 1701.
He was rarely present on campus or in the town, especially during his term of Rector as he was out of the Colony for all but two years of his term in that office. Despite his absences he did make some changes: reimplementation of Greek and Hebrew instruction, replacement of classical Roman authors with Biblical and Christian authors in ethics classes, enactment of requirements that students attend classes regularly, live and eat on campus and that seniors not haze other students.
Involvement in politics
While politics and Puritan religion were closely related during Increase's life time, his first direct involvement with politics occurred as a result of James II of England's manipulation of the New England governments. In 1686 James revoked the Charter of Massachusetts in the process of creating the unresponsible Dominion of New England.
The Dominion was headed by Edmund Andros, who not only disliked puritanism and was haughty, but ruled as a near absolute dictator: Town meetings were outlawed, leaving the Dominion without consent of the government was outlawed, marriage was removed from the clergy and the Old South Church was temporarily appropriated for Anglican services. Also disliked by the Puritan status quo was the 1687 Declaration of Indulgence, prohibiting discrimination against Catholics. When Mather successfully roused opposition to the charter revocation, he was nearly framed for treason. He then traveled to London (eluding spies out to catch him) to petition the King.
While engaged in petitioning he published pieces to build popular support for his positions, such as A Narrative of the Miseries of New-England, By Reason of an Arbitrary Government Erected there Under Sir Edmund Andros (1688) and A Brief Relation for the Confirmation of Charter Privileges (1691).
While there he attempted to get the old charter restored and a royal charter for Harvard; however, he abandoned that course and changed his petitions to a new charter not lacking any of the rights previously granted. Following the Glorious Revolution and subsequent overthrow of Andros, a new charter was granted to the colony. The 1692 charter was a major departure from its predecessor, granting sweeping home rule, establishing an elective legislature, enfranchising all freeholders (previously only men admitted to a congregation could vote), and uniting the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Plymouth Colony. Following Andros' deposition and arrest, he had William Phips appointed as Royal Governor and they returned to Massachusetts, arriving on May 14 1692.
Following his return, the administration of Harvard grew increasingly insistent that he reside nearer to the institution. Not wanting to leave his Second Church, he didn't, eventually resigning the Presidency.
Involvement in the Salem witch trials
As an influential member of the community, Increase was involved in the notorious witch hysteria of Salem, Massachusetts. As the court of oyer and terminer was beginning to hear cases of suspected witchcraft, Increase published "The Return of Several Ministers Consulted", which urged moderation in the use and credence of "spectral evidence". In June and July 1692 as the trials and executions began to increase, Mather made a number of sermons interpreted as a plea to cool the heated atmosphere. In September he published Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits Personating Men, Witchcrafts, infallible Proofs of Guilt in such as are accused with that Crime (more commonly known as just "Cases of conscience concerning evil spirits"), which defended the judges and trials, but strongly denounced the spectral evidence used by them. It said, "It were better that Ten Suspected Witches should escape, than that one Innocent Person should be Condemned". (A slightly altered version of this phrase would later become known as Blackstone's formulation.) Afterwards, his reputation was not improved by his involvement and association with the trials, nor by his subsequent refusal to denounce them. His refusal to repudiate was likely because of his longtime friendship with the judges involved. He was also defamed by Robert Calef in his harshly critical More Wonders of the Invisible World (referred to as More Wonders of the Spiritual World by the Encyclopedia Britannica Eleventh Edition).
The Pavement song "Give It A Day" is about the Salem Witch Trials and both Increase and Cotton Mather's involvement in them.
Later life and death
Following Maria's death in August 1714, he remarried. On September 27, 1722 he fainted and was bedridden thereafter. In August of 1723 he suffered bladder failure and died three weeks later on August 23, 1723 in Boston and was buried on Copp's Hill.
