Bridget Bishop (née Magnus; c. 1632 – 10 June 1692) was the first person executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials in 1692.

Her sister Mercy, her father John, and her mother Rebecca adopted the last name Playfer, Bridget's paternal grandmother's maiden name.

[citation needed] She married her first husband, Samuel Wesselby on 13 April 1660, at St. Mary-in-the-Marsh, Norwich, Norfolk, England.

[4][page needed] Her second marriage, on 26 July 1666,[5] was to Thomas Oliver, a widower and prominent businessman, listed in early records as a calendar.

[4][page needed] Bridget Bishop was examined due to her accusation of suspicion of "sundry acts of witchcraft".

[8][page needed] Bishop was accused of bewitching five young women, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam, Jr., Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, and Elizabeth Hubbard, on the date of her examination by the authorities, 19 April 1692.

Bishop was charged for committing witchcraft upon five women, Ann Putnam, Mercy Lewis, Abigail Williams, Mary Walcot, and Elis Hubert.

Another local man, Samuel Shattuck, accused Bishop of bewitching his child and also of striking his son with a spade.

In the end Mather states that the greatest thing that condemned Bishop was the gross amount of lying she committed in court.

"'Goodwife Bishop her Neighb'r wife of Edw: Bishop Jun'r might not be permitted to receive the Lords Supper in our church till she had given her the said Trask satisfaction for some offences that were against her .viz because the said Bishop did entertaine people in her house at unseasonable hours in the night to keep drinking and playing at shovel-board whereby discord did arise in other families & young people were in danger to bee corrupted & that the s'd Trask these things & had once gon into the house & fynding some at shovel-board had taken the of peices [sic] thay played with & thrown them into the fyre & had reprooved the said Bishop for promoting such disorders, But received no satisfaction from her about it"One interpretation of the historical record suggests that she was a resident of Salem Town and thus not the tavern owner.