HUNTER, ROBERT (d. , colonial governor of New York, New Jersey and Jamaica, was the son of James and Mar garet (Spalding) Hunter of Hunterston, Ayrshire, Scotland. Forsaking his apprenticeship as an apothecary, Hunter joined the British army and fought at Blenheim (1704) under Marlborough, with whom he seems to have been personally acquainted. In 1707 Hunter was chosen lieutenant-governor of Virginia, but on the way to America he was captured by the French, remaining as their prisoner until exchanged for the bishop of Quebec. Hunter was commissioned as governor of New York and the Jerseys in 1709. Accompanying the new executive to America in 1710 were 3,00o Palatine refugees who were ordered to undertake the pro duction of naval stores. This Hudson river venture proved to be a failure despite the governor's intense interest and expense in the project. Hunter's career in America was characterized by a series of political and religious entanglements, but he was one of the best loved administrators ever selected by England. He played an important role both at the New London congress (1711) and at New York in preparing the colonial contingents for the last campaign of Queen Anne's War. In 1719 Hunter returned to England, and for several years was consulted as an authority on colonial affairs by the board of trade. His last commission was the governorship of Jamaica which office he held until his death on March 31, 1734. (R. L. BE.)