Hooker, Thomas (1586–1647)

British colonial religious leader in America. A Puritan, he opposed the religious leadership of Cambridge colony, and led a group of his followers westward to the Connecticut Valley, founding Hartford 1636. He became the de facto leader of the colony and in 1639 helped to formulate Connecticut's first constitution, the Fundamental Orders.

Born in England and educated as a minister at Cambridge, Hooker served at parishes in England before fleeing to Holland in 1630 because of his Puritan beliefs. In 1633 he emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, settling in Cambridge.