William Bradford was born in 1588 in Austerfield, Yorkshire, England. As a child, he became interested in reading the Bible due to frequent illness. Bradford joined the Separatist movement and fled to Holland in 1608 to escape religious persecution in England. In 1620, Bradford traveled to America on the Mayflower and helped establish the Plymouth Colony, signing the Mayflower Compact. He served as governor of Plymouth Colony for over 30 years and described the first Thanksgiving in his journal "Of Plymouth Plantation." Bradford died in Plymouth in 1657 at the age of 68 and is buried there.