Andrew Oliver was a Boston‑born merchant, politician, and loyalist who became one of the most visible symbols of British authority in Massachusetts. Appointed stamp distributor for the colony in 1765, he became the target of intense public anger during the Stamp Act crisis. Protesters hung an effigy of him from the Liberty Tree on Boston Common, then marched to his home at Fort Hill, where the crowd destroyed parts of the property. Under pressure, Oliver publicly resigned his commission at the Old State House.
He later served as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts under Thomas Hutchinson, maintaining a firm loyalist stance as tensions escalated. Oliver died in 1774, just before the outbreak of war, and is buried in Granary Burying Ground.
