Thomas Putnam (March 12, 1651/2 - May 24, 1699) was a resident of Salem Village (present-day Danvers, Massachusetts) and a significant accuser in the notorious 1692 Salem witch trials. Son of one of Salem's wealthiest residents, he was excluded from major inheritances by both his father and father-in-law. His half brother, who had benefited most from their father's estate, married into the rival Porter family, fueling ill will between the clans. Putnam, his wife, and his daughter, all levied accusations of witchcraft, many of them against members of the Porter family, and testified at the trials.
He was the son of Lt. Thomas Putnam Sr. (1615–1686) and Ann Holyoke (1621–1665). He was also a nephew of Elizur Holyoke and great great great uncle of General Israel Putnam.
Thomas was the husband to Ann Carr, and father of Ann Putnam, Jr. Thomas' brother, Edward, also participated in the witch trials.
Arthur Miller wrote the play "The Crucible" using tools to composite characters from actual records of the Salem witch hysteria. To these composite characters he assigned real names, including Putnam's. In the 1957 and 1996 film adaptations of the play, he was portrayed by Alfred Adam and Jeffrey Jones, respectively.
Famous quotes containing the words thomas and/or putnam:
“It’s that—the thought of the few, simple things we want and the knowledge that we’re going to get them in spite of you know Who and His spites and tempers—that keeps us living I think.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“Men, you are all marksmen—don’t one of you fire until you see the whites of their eyes.”
—Israel Putnam (1718–1790)