Famous people from New Hampshire? Most folks think of the state as granite, ski trails and no sales tax, and sure, that's part of it. But the Granite State has also produced presidents, astronauts, authors, a Supreme Court chief justice or two and a couple of very funny people who started out in a Merrimack Valley kitchen. Not bad for a state you can drive across in a couple of hours.
Here's the rule: every person below was born in New Hampshire, and we checked the birthplaces. If you already read our celebrities you never realized were from New Hampshire post, expect a different crowd this time. Oldest to youngest, here are 12 famous people from New Hampshire who put the Granite State on the map.
1. Daniel Webster (born 1782): Salisbury's Silver-Tongued Statesman
Daniel Webster was born on January 18, 1782, in Salisbury, in a spot that's now part of the city of Franklin. He went to Phillips Exeter Academy, then Dartmouth College, and grew up to argue more than 200 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He also served as secretary of state, and he spent much of his career in Congress representing both New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Folks called him a one-man debate team. We call him the original New Hampshire guy who could out-talk your uncle at Thanksgiving.
2. Sarah Josepha Hale (born 1788): Newport's Thanksgiving Champion
Sarah Josepha Buell Hale was born on October 24, 1788, in Newport. She became the editor of Godey's Lady's Book, the most widely read magazine in America before the Civil War, and she wrote the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb." Hale also campaigned for years to make Thanksgiving a national holiday, and in 1863 President Lincoln proclaimed one. So next time you're elbow-deep in the stuffing, say a quiet thank-you to a woman from Newport, NH.
3. Franklin Pierce (born 1804): Hillsborough's Only President
Franklin Pierce was born on November 23, 1804, in Hillsborough, and he's still the only U.S. president born in New Hampshire. He served as the 14th president from 1853 to 1857, and he went to Bowdoin College in Maine, where he became friends with Nathaniel Hawthorne. His boyhood home, the Franklin Pierce Homestead in Hillsborough, is now a National Historic Landmark. Say what you want about his presidency, the man is the pride of the 603. Fly your Granite State colors in our Patriotic 603 New Hampshire T-Shirt.
4. Salmon P. Chase (born 1808): Cornish's Chief Justice
Salmon Portland Chase was born on January 13, 1808, in Cornish, right on the Connecticut River. He moved west, became a lawyer in Cincinnati and a well-known anti-slavery activist, and later served as governor of Ohio and as secretary of the treasury under Lincoln. From 1864 until his death in 1873 he was chief justice of the United States, and in 1868 he presided over the Senate trial of President Andrew Johnson. Not many people can say they held jobs in all three branches of government. Chase can.
5. Horace Greeley (born 1811): Amherst's Newspaper Giant
Horace Greeley was born on February 3, 1811, in Amherst, New Hampshire, into a poor farm family. He apprenticed to a printer in Vermont, then headed to New York City, where he founded the New-York Tribune in 1841. It became the highest-circulating newspaper in the country, and Greeley ran for president in 1872 against Ulysses S. Grant. He's also remembered for popularizing the slogan "Go West, young man." A farm kid from Amherst, NH, who ended up shaping what America read over breakfast.
6. Mary Baker Eddy (born 1821): Bow's Founder of Christian Science
Mary Baker Eddy was born on July 16, 1821, in Bow, New Hampshire. In 1879 she founded the Church of Christ, Scientist, and in 1908 she started The Christian Science Monitor, a newspaper that's still going and is based in Boston. Whatever your take on her beliefs, a woman from a small farm town in Bow built an international organization and a respected newsroom. That's a lot of grit out of one Granite State farmhouse.
7. Harlan Fiske Stone (born 1872): Chesterfield's Chief Justice
Harlan Fiske Stone was born on October 11, 1872, in Chesterfield, in the southwest corner of the state. He went to Amherst College, where Calvin Coolidge was a classmate, and later served as U.S. Attorney General under Coolidge. He joined the Supreme Court as an associate justice in 1925 and became the 12th chief justice of the United States in 1941, a post he held until his death in 1946. New Hampshire gave us two chief justices on this list alone. We'll take it.
8. Alan Shepard (born 1923): Derry's Man on the Moon
Alan Shepard was born on November 18, 1923, in Derry, and he graduated from Pinkerton Academy in 1940. On May 5, 1961, he flew Freedom 7 and became the first American in space. Ten years later, as commander of Apollo 14, he walked on the Moon at age 47, the oldest person to do it at the time, and he famously hit a couple of golf balls up there. A kid from Derry, NH, teeing off on the lunar surface. Live free, indeed.
9. John Irving (born 1942): Exeter's Storyteller
John Irving was born on March 2, 1942, in Exeter, though his name at birth was John Wallace Blunt Jr. He broke through in 1978 with The World According to Garp, and he followed it with bestsellers like The Hotel New Hampshire, The Cider House Rules and A Prayer for Owen Meany. In 2000 he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules. A lot of his fictional towns sound an awful lot like Exeter. Write what you know, right?
10. Dan Brown (born 1964): Exeter's Code Cracker
Dan Brown was born on June 22, 1964, in Exeter, and he went on to graduate from Phillips Exeter Academy and Amherst College. His thrillers are treasure hunts built around codes, art and secret societies, and The Da Vinci Code, published in 2003, made him one of the best-selling authors in the world. So yes, the guy who turned symbols and conspiracies into a global franchise got his start in a town known for white steeples and a very famous prep school.
11. Sarah Silverman (born 1970): Concord's Comic
Sarah Silverman was born on December 1, 1970, in Concord, and she grew up in Manchester and Bedford. She spent the 1993-94 season on Saturday Night Live, then starred in and produced The Sarah Silverman Program on Comedy Central from 2007 to 2010, earning a Primetime Emmy nomination for it. Concord is the state capital, full of lawmakers, and it also produced a stand-up comic who never played it safe. Only in New Hampshire.
12. Bode Miller (born 1977): Easton's Fearless Skier
Bode Miller was born on October 12, 1977, in Easton, and he skied for the Franconia Ski Club. He won six Olympic medals, more than any other American alpine skier, including gold in the super combined at Vancouver in 2010, and he took two overall World Cup titles in 2005 and 2008. He's known for flying down mountains at full tilt with zero fear. If that sounds like your weekends at Cannon or Loon, our New Hampshire Live Free And Ski T-Shirt was made for you.
Why the Granite State Punches Above Its Weight
Look at where these folks started: Salisbury, Newport, Hillsborough, Cornish, Amherst, Bow, Chesterfield, Derry, Exeter, Concord and Easton. Tiny farm towns, mill towns and mountain towns. New Hampshire has been sending big talent out into the world for more than 200 years. Want more Granite State bragging material? Read up on things invented in New Hampshire, see which of the weird laws in New Hampshire you've broken, or watch the movies filmed in New Hampshire for a little more hometown pride.
Born Here, Live Free Everywhere
Some of these folks never left the 603, and some ended up in space, Hollywood or the Supreme Court. Every one of them started in a New Hampshire town, and that's the Chowdaheadz way: wherever you landed, you rep your hometown. Our New Hampshire State Seal T-Shirt and Custom New Hampshire Zip Code T-Shirt are good places to start. Who's the famous person from your town? Tell us. We're listening.
Stay wicked proud, New Hampshire,
Ryan & the Chowdaheadz Crew