John Alden was an English magistrate, settler, and cooper, best known for being a crew member on the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower which brought the English settlers, commonly known as Pilgrims, to Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. He was hired in Southampton, England, as the ship's cooper, responsible for maintaining the ship's barrels. He was a member of the ship's crew and not initially a settler, yet he decided to remain in Plymouth Colony when the Mayflower returned to England. He was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact. He is the ancestor of Dick Van Dyke, Orson Welles & Marilyn Monroe.

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