BRADFORD, WILLIAM

born April 30, 1823, Fairhaven, Mass., U.S. died April 25, 1892, New York City U.S. marine painter whose pictures attracted much attention by reason of their novelty and colour effects. He was a Quaker and a self-taught artist, painting the ships and the marine views he saw along the coasts of Massachusetts, Labrador, and Nova Scotia; he went on several Arctic expeditions with Isaac Hayes and was the first American painter to portray the frozen regions of the north. His Steamer Panther' in Melville Bay, under the Light of the Midnight Sun was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1875. Bradford was a member of the National Academy of Design, New York City. His style was somewhat influenced by Albert van Beest, who worked with him at Fairhaven for a time, but Bradford is observant of minute detail, whereas Beest's aim was general effect. John Greenleaf Whittier's poem Amy Wentworth was inspired by a Bradford painting and is addressed to him. born March 1590, Austerfield, Yorkshire, Eng. died May 9, 1657, Plymouth, Mass. governor of the Plymouth colony for 30 years, who helped shape and stabilize the political institutions of the first permanent colony in New England. Bradford also left an invaluable journal chronicling the Pilgrim venture, of which he was a part. As a boy in England, he was caught up in the fervour of the Protestant Reformation and became a dedicated member of the Separatist Church, the left wing of Puritanism, when only 12. Seven years later he joined a group of nonconformists who migrated to Holland (1609) in search of religious freedom. Dissatisfied with the lack of economic opportunity there, he helped organize an expedition of about 100 Pilgrims to the New World in 1620. Aboard ship, Bradford was one of the framers of the historic Mayflower Compact, an agreement for voluntary civil cooperation that became the foundation of the Plymouth government. The following year he was unanimously chosen as governor of the New World settlement and was re-elected 30 times, serving all but five years until 1656. Bradford is remembered mainly for his contribution in nurturing the fledgling colony's democratic institutions, such as the franchise and town meeting, thus establishing those traditions of self-government that would set the pattern for national political development in years to come. Although he called himself a Congregationalist, he discouraged sectarian labels and made a point of welcoming all Separatist groups to New England shores. In addition, he evolved means of assimilating nonbelievers into the life of the colony. Bradford's History of Plymouth Plantation, 162047 is a unique source of intimate detail and description of both the sea voyage and the hardships and challenges faced by the settlers. born May 20, 1663, Leicestershire, Eng. died May 23, 1752, New York City printer who issued one of the first American almanacs, Kalendarium Pennsilvaniense or America's Messenger (1685), the first American Book of Common Prayer (1710), and many political writings and pamphlets. He learned the printer's trade in London, emigrated to Pennsylvania (1682), and opened a printing shop (1685) and a bookstore (1688) in Philadelphia. In 1690, with William Rittenhouse and others, he established the first paper mill in America, at Roxborough, Pa., now in Philadelphia. He went to New York (1693), was appointed royal printer for the colony, and, in the next half century, issued about 400 titles. In November 1725 he published the first New York newspaper, the New York Gazette. Many of his descendants were also printers. Additional reading Bradford Smith, Bradford of Plymouth (1951), is a biography.