(born Feb. 5, 1725, West Barnstable, Mass.—died May 23, 1783, Andover, Mass., U.S.) American Revolutionary statesman. He argued before the colonial court against the British-imposed writs of assistance (1761), reportedly stating “Taxation without representation is tyranny.” He served in the provincial legislature (1761–69) and was a leading opponent, along with Samuel Adams, of the Stamp Act. He wrote political pamphlets upholding the colonists' cause, including The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved (1764). Struck on the head in a scuffle with a British official in 1769, he later became mentally unbalanced.

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