Mather, Increase, 1639-1723, American Puritan clergyman, b. Dorchester, Mass.; son of Richard Mather. After graduation (1656) from Harvard, he studied at Trinity College, Dublin (M.A., 1658), and preached in England and Guernsey until the Restoration. After returning to Massachusetts (1661), he became (1664) pastor of North Church, Boston, and retained that position through his life. Cotton Mather, his son and colleague, cooperated with him in many of the affairs that occupied their busy lives. They were outstanding upholders of the old Puritan theocracy and of the established order in church and state. This conservatism led to trouble with the government during the Restoration period, and Increase Mather was a particularly bitter opponent of Edward Randolph and Sir Edmund Andros over the withdrawal of the Massachusetts charter and the conduct of the royal government. In 1688 he went to England to present the grievances of Massachusetts, and, after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the subsequent revolt in Massachusetts against Andros, he obtained a new charter that united Plymouth Colony with Massachusetts Bay Colony. Increase Mather looked with favor on the government of Sir William Phips. After 1692 his influence declined somewhat, but he remained powerful to the end. He was president of Harvard College (1685-1701), but he was inactive and spent little time in Cambridge. His writing reflected the concerns of his career. Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits (1693), appearing soon after the Salem witch furor, denounced "spectral evidence" in witch trials. He also wrote a biography of his father (1670); A History of the War with the Indians (1676), written just after King Philip's War; and Remarkable Providences (1684), based on an earlier work by other writers.

Kimball, Sumner Increase, 1834-1923, organizer of the U.S. Life-Saving Service, b. Lebanon, Maine. A lawyer, he became (1871) head of the revenue marine service of the Treasury Dept., and his investigations into shipwrecks along the Atlantic coast led to a reorganization of lifesaving methods. Kimball commanded the Life-Saving Service from its inception in 1878 until it became part of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1915. He wrote Organization and Methods of the U.S. Life Saving Service (1889) and Joshua James, Life Saver (1909).

(born June 21, 1639, Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony—died Aug. 23, 1723, Boston) American Puritan leader. The son of a Puritan cleric, he was educated at Harvard College and at Trinity College, Dublin. He returned to New England and served as minister of Boston's North Church (1661–1723). He and his son Cotton Mather lobbied successfully for the removal of the hated governor of Massachusetts, Edmund Andros, and obtained a new charter for the colony in 1691. He served as president of Harvard College (1685–1701). His writings include Case of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits Personating Men (1693), which helped end the Salem witch trials. Seealso Puritanism.

Learn more about Mather, Increase with a free trial on Britannica.com.