Thomas Dudley, English soldier and politician, 3rd Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony (born 1576)

Thomas Dudley was a New England colonial magistrate who served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dudley was the chief founder of Newtowne, later Cambridge, Massachusetts, and built the town's first home. He provided land and funds to establish the Roxbury Latin School and signed Harvard College's new charter during his 1650 term as governor. Dudley was a devout Puritan who opposed religious views not conforming with his. In this, he was more rigid than other early Massachusetts leaders like John Winthrop, but less confrontational than John Endecott.

The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces.