John Carver (1584-April 1621) was Governor of Plymouth Colony from 1620 to 1621, preceding William Bradford.
Biography[]
John Carver was born in England around 1584, and he was a Puritan Separatist. He was instrumental in organizing the Pilgrims' Mayflower voyage in 1620, leaving Leiden in Holland and sailing to the New World to establish a colony. Carver and his wife Katherine White boarded the ship with five servants and four children of the More family, and Carver was elected Governor of the Mayflower for the duration of the Atlantic crossing. On 11 November 1620, he was the author and first signer of the Mayflower Compact, and he was chosen as the first Governor of Plymouth Colony. He died in 1621, and his wife followed him five weeks later.