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Famous People from New Hampshire


William J. Baroody Jr. (1937 - 1996) An American government official best known for running the White House Office of Public Liaison under President Gerald Ford and, later, the American Enterprise Institute. Born in Manchester, NH (1567)

Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (1867 - 1944) An American composer and pianist. She was the first successful American female composer of large-scale art music. Most of her compositions and performances were under the name Mrs. H.H.A. Beach. Born in Henniker, NH (1551)

Ernest A. Blood (1872 - 1955) A former high school and college men's basketball coach. He was best known for his "Wonder Teams" at New Jersey's Passaic High School, which lost only one game in the span of a decade and set an American high school record for most consecutive victories. Born in Manchester, NH (1549)

Philip Edmund Booth (1925 - 2007) An American poet and educator; he has been called "Maine's clearest poetic voice. Born in Hanover, NH (1552)

Dan Brown (1964 - ) An American author of thriller fiction, best known for the 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. Born in Exeter, NH (1553)

Lewis Cass (1782 - 1866) An American military officer and politician. Michigan territorial governor (1813-1831), an American ambassador, U. S. senator from Michigan (1845-1857), U. S. cabinet officer, and Democratic candidate (1848) for the U. S . presidency. Born in Exeter, NH (270)

Charles Carleton Coffin (1823 - 1896) An American journalist, Civil War correspondent, author and politician. Born in Boscawen, NH (1554)

Ronnie James Dio (1942 - 2010) Born Ronald James Padavona. An American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. Born in Portsmouth, NH (1563)

Horace Greeley (1811 - 1872) Editor of the New-York Tribune. A founder of the Liberal Republican Party, a reformer, and a politician. Born in Amherst, NH (1555)

Sarah Josepha Buell Hale (1788 - 1879) An American writer and editor. Author who wrote "Mary Had a Little Lamb". She campaigned for the creation of the American holiday known as Thanksgiving. Born in Newport, NH (369)

Nathan Hale (1755 - 1776) A soldier for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an intelligence gathering mission but was captured by the British. Credited as saying, "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country." Born in Hampstead, NH (1568)

Sam Huntington (1982 - ) An American actor. Best known for his starring role as werewolf Josh Levison in the series Being Human. Born in Peterborough, NH (1558)

John Irving (1942 - ) Born John Wallace Blunt, Jr. An American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter. Born in Exeter, NH (0)

Thomas Kopache (1945 - ) An American actor. Known as Bob Slatterly in The West Wing and various roles in the Star Trek franchise. Born in Manchester, NH (1559)

Raymond Charles Jack LaMontagne (1973 - ) An American singer-songwriter. Reportedly, after hearing a Stephen Stills song, LaMontagne decided to quit his job at a shoe factory and pursue a career in music. Born in Nashua, NH (1564)



John Langdon (1741 - 1819) One of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A politician from Portsmouth, New Hampshire and one of the first two United States senators from that state. He served as the first president pro tempore of the Senate. Born in Portsmouth, NH (1569)

Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe (1832 - 1913) Also known as Professor T. S. C. Lowe. An American Civil War aeronaut, scientist and inventor. He is the father of military aerial reconnaissance in the United States. Born in Jefferson Mills, NH (1557)

Grace Metalious (1924 - 1964) Born Marie Grace DeRepentigny. An American author, best known for her controversial novel Peyton Place, which stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for 59 weeks. Born in Manchester, NH (1556)

Bode Miller (1977 - ) Born Samuel Bode Miller. An American alpine ski racer. He is an Olympic and World Championship gold medalist, a two-time overall World Cup champion in 2005 and 2008, and the most successful male American alpine ski racer of all time. Born in Easton, NH (1550)

Mandy Moore (1984 - ) Born Amanda Leigh Moore. An American singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Some of her films include The Princess Diaries, A Walk to Remember, Chasing Liberty and the voice of Rapunzel in Disney's Tangled. Born in Nashua, NH (1565)

Franklin Pierce (1804 - 1869) The 14th President of the United States (1853-1857). He is widely regarded as one of the worst presidents in U.S. history. Born in Hillsboro, NH (368)

Keri Lynn Pratt (1978 - ) An American actress of film and television. Known for her role of Missy Belknap on Jack & Bobby and as Dee Vine in Drive My Crazy. Born in Concord, NH (1560)

Tom Rush (1941 - ) An American folk and blues singer, songwriter and recording artist. Born in Portsmouth, NH (1566)

John Victor Shea (1949 - ) An American actor and director who has starred on stage, television and in film. He is best known for his role as Lex Luthor in the 1990s TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Born in North Conway, NH (1561)

Alan B. Shepard Jr. (1923 - 1998) An American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, flag officer and one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts. Became the first American in space when he orbited the earth in the rocket Freedom 7 in May 1961. Born in East Derry, NH (365)

Christopher Stone (1942 - 1995) Born Thomas Edward Bourassa. An American actor in television and film. He appeared in The Interns, Three for the Road, Spencer's Pilots and The A-Team. Born in Manchester, NH (1562)

Earl Silas Tupper (1907 - 1983) Invented tupperware while working at a DuPont chemical factory. He later founded the Tupperware Plastics Company. Born in Berlin, NH (366)

Daniel Webster (1782 - 1852) A leading American senator and statesman. He served in the House of Representatives for 10 years for New Hampshire, in the Senate for 19 years for Massachusetts and was appointed the United States Secretary of State under 3 presidents. Born in Salisbury, NH (1570)

Henry Wilson (1812 - 1875) Born Jeremiah Jones Colbath. The 18th Vice President of the United States under President Ulysses Grant (1873-1875) and Senator from Massachusetts (1855-1873). Born in Farmington, NH (364)