Thomas Pownall
| Thomas Pownall | |
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| Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay | |
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In office 3 August 1757 – 3 June 1760 |
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| Preceded by | Massachusetts Governor's Council (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Hutchinson (acting) |
| Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey | |
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In office 13 May 1755 – 23 Sep 1757 |
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| Governor | Jonathan Belcher |
| Preceded by | Vacant |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Acting Governor of the Province of New Jersey | |
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In office 22 Sep 1757 – 23 Sep 1757 |
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| Preceded by | John Reading {President of Council} |
| Succeeded by | John Reading {President of Council} |
| Member of Parliament for Tregony, Cornwall |
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In office 1767–1774 Serving with Sir Abraham Hume and John Grey |
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| Preceded by | William Trevanion |
| Succeeded by | George Lane Parker |
| Member of Parliament for Minehead, Somerset |
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In office December 1774 – 1780 Serving with John Fownes-Luttrell |
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| Preceded by | Henry Fownes-Luttrell |
| Succeeded by | Francis Fownes-Luttrell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Baptised 4 September 1722 (New Style) |
| Died | 25 February 1805 (aged 82) Bath, Somerset, England |
| Political party | Whig |
| Religion | Anglican |
| Signature |  |
Thomas Pownall (bapt. 4 September 1722 (New Style) – 25 February 1805) was a British politician and colonial official. He was governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1757 to 1760, and afterward served in the British Parliament. He travelled widely in the North American colonies prior to the American Revolutionary War, opposed Parliamentary attempts to tax the colonies, and was a minority advocate of colonial positions until the Revolution.
Classically educated and well-connected to the colonial administration in London, Pownall first travelled to North America in 1753, and spent two years exploring the colonies before being appointed Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey in 1755. He became governor of Massachusetts in 1757 after helping engineer the recall of longtime Governor William Shirley. His administration was dominated by the French and Indian War (called the "Seven Years War" in England) in which Pownall was instrumental in raising Massachusetts provincial militia for the war effort. He opposed military interference in colonial administration, including attempts to quarter British troops in private homes, and had a generally positive relationship with the colonial assembly.
Returning to England in 1760, he continued to be interested in colonial affairs, publishing widely read materials on conditions in the colonies, including several editions of The Administration of the Colonies. As a Member of Parliament he regularly advocated for colonial positions without much success, but supported the war effort once the Revolutionary War began. In the early 19th century he became an early advocate of the reduction or removal of trade barriers, and the establishment of a solid relationship between Britain and the United States. Several writers have proposed that Pownall was Junius, a pseudonymous writer of letters critical of British governmental practices.
John Adams wrote, "Pownall was the most constitutional and national Governor, in my opinion, who ever represented the crown in this province."
Thomas Pownall was the eldest son of William and Sarah (Burniston) Pownall. His father was a country gentleman and soldier whose poor health and early death in 1735 caused the family to fall upon hard times. Baptised 4 September 1722 (New Style) in Lincoln, England, Thomas was educated at Lincoln Grammar School and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1743. His education exposed him to classic and current philosophers, and the sciences. His first publication, a treatise on the origins of government published in 1752, began as notes developed at Cambridge.
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