William Burnett becomes royal governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

The former governor of New York and New Jersey, he is welcomed with a parade to the Town House, where his commission is opened, followed by a reception at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern. Burnet refuses to approve any acts of the General Court until his salary is approved, beginning a contentious relationship with the residents. He proves to be more interested in using his position to accumulate wealth and in imposing the Anglican religion than in the town’s welfare. While approaching the ferry from Cambridge to Boston, he is thrown from his carriage into the water on August 31, 1729. He falls ill and dies in Boston on September 7, 1729.