Catherine Evans
American National Biography, John Leverett (Article Number: 0100515)
John Leverett was the grandson of John Leverett (Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony) and son of Hudson Leverett and Sarah Payton. He was educated at Boston Latin School and Harvard, graduating with a bachelors in 1670 and masters in 1683. He read theology and preached irregularly for several years. He was appointed as resident fellow at Harvard in 1685, at the same time as William Brattle, and held this post for twelve years. Brattle and Leverett managed the college whilst President Increase Mather was in England for four years. On 25 November 1697, he married Margaret Rogers Berry (d. 7 June 1720), the daughter of a previous Harvard president. They would have nine children, three of which survived to majority. After the death of Margaret, Leverett married again to Sarah Crisp Harris (d. 4 April 1744). He served as a justice of the peace in the Province of Massachusetts Bay (1699), in the Court of Admirality (1705), at the Superior Court (1702-1708), as a judge for the Probate Court (1702-1708), as Speaker of the Colonial Massachusetts House of Representatives (1700-1702) and the provincial councillor for eastern Maine (1706-1708). During Queen Annes War, Leverett was an Indian commissionaire, trying to persuade the Iroquois to enter the war on the British side without success. However, he commanded a company of volunteers which engaged in a failed assult on French ports in 1707. From 1708 until his death, Leverett would serve as President of Harvard. In this position, he prioritised ensuring that the college received its promised bequest. Enrolment grew during his tenure and the College's first endowed chair was established (the Hollis Professorship of Divinity), the first student club and the first student publication ("The Telltale") were established. Faculty battled to subdue unruly students. In 1719, Leverett formed the Lincolnshire Company, which aimed to develop land inherited from his grandfather in Maine, although this project was unsuccessful during his life. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1714.