Cotton Mather (1663 – 1728) was a socially and politically influential Puritan minister, prolific author, and pamphleteer in New England. He received a B.A. at Harvard College (1678), and a M.A. in 1681. He also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow in 1710. Cotton Mather, likely named after his grandfather, John Cotton, was the son of influential minister Increase Mather. He is often remembered for his persecution of witches and association with the Salem witch trials.