Richard Bellingham (1592 - December 7, 1672) was a colonial magistrate, laywer, and several-time governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Events January 30 - The death of Pope Innocent IX during the previous year had left the Papal throne vacant. ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events England, France, Munster and Cologne invade the United Provinces, therefore this name is know as ´het rampjaar´ (the disaster year) in the Netherlands. ... The Massachusetts Bay Colony (sometimes called by the name Massachusetts Bay Company, for the institution that founded it) was the direct predecessor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and then the state of Massachusetts. ...

Richard Bellingham was probably born in Boston, England, the son of William Bellingham and Frances Amcotts. He became a lawyer, and represented his town as Member of Parliament in 1628 and 1629, while also serving as city recorder. He immigrated to the Puritan colonies in 1634, and settled in In 1641, Bellingham was involved in a small scandal for officiating at his own second marriage ceremony, and in 1665, he ignored a summons by Charles II to return to England. Bellingham pacified the angered sovereign by sending over a ship full of masts as a gift. He died in Boston in 1672 during a term as governor. For other uses, see Boston (disambiguation). ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... The Puritans were members of a group of Protestants seeking further reforms or even separation from the established church during the Reformation. ... Events The Long Parliament passes a series of legislation designed to contain Charles Is absolutist tendencies. ... Events March 4 - Start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War March 6 - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society begins publication March 16 - Bucharest allows Jews to settle in the city in exchange of annual tax of 16 guilders June 3 - The Duke of York defeats the Dutch Fleet off the... Charles II (29 May 1630–6 February 1685) was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 30 January 1649 (de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ...

Though known as a hard, obdurate, and sometimes eccentric man, he was apparently well-respected in the colony. He was immortalized as a character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, as was his sister, Anne Hibbins, who would be executed as a witch in 1656. Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was a 19th century American novelist and short story writer. ... Salem Custom House The Scarlet Letter, published in 1850, is a classic American novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and is generally considered to be his masterpiece. ... // Events Mehmed Köprülü becomes Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. ...

Richard Bellingham married in England, as his first wife, Elizabeth Backhouse. After her death, he married Penelope Pelham, the granddaughter of the 2nd Lord de la Warre.