Joseph Warren was born in Roxbury in 1741, son of Joseph and Mary (Stevens) Warren. He graduated from Harvard in 1759 and married Elizabeth Horton in 1764. He studied medicine with Dr. James Lloyd and practiced in Boston. As a Freemason, he joined St. Andrews Lodge, a newly organized group, which included many political agitators. A radical leader in activities leading to the Revolution, he delivered addresses commemorating the Boston Massacre in 1772 and 1775, and drafted the Suffolk Resolves. Elected to the Provincial Congress in 1774, he served as president pro tem and was chairman of the Provincial Committee of Safety. He was commissioned second major-general in 1775, but served as a volunteer in the battle at Bunker Hill in which he was killed in 1775.

Sources: Sibley's Harvard Graduates. Vol.14, pages 510-527. Massachusetts Historical Society.

Portraits in the Massachusetts Historical Society. Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1988.