The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Academics and science
- John Knowlton Bartlett (1816âÂÂ1899), physician
- Edmund March Blunt (1770âÂÂ1862), navigator, publisher
- E. Warren Clark (1849âÂÂ1907), educator
- Alfred L. Elwyn (1804âÂÂ1884), physician, pioneer in the training and care of the mentally disabled
- Laurence G. Leavitt (1903âÂÂ2000), headmaster of Vermont Academy
- Richard A. Searfoss (1956âÂÂ2018), astronaut
- Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford (1753âÂÂ1814), physicist, inventor; Count of the Holy Roman Empire
- Frederick Pearson Treadwell (1857âÂÂ1918), chemist
- Elizabeth Virgil (1903âÂÂ1991), educator
Arts and architecture
Business
Judiciary
Media
- Bill Alfonso (born 1957), former pro wrestling referee and manager (born William Matthew Sierra in Portsmouth)
- Tom Bergeron (born 1955), TV presenter, game show host
- Peter Bonerz (born 1938), actor, director
- Samantha Brown (born 1970), Travel Channel host, TV personality
- William F. Haddock (1877âÂÂ1969), film director of the silent film era
- Jean Kasem (born 1954), actress
- Milton Selzer (1918âÂÂ2006), stage, film, and television actor
- Ilene Woods (1929âÂÂ2010), actress, voice of Cinderella
Military
- Charles C. Carpenter (1834âÂÂ1899), United States Navy rear admiral who rose to command of the Asiatic Squadron; resided in Portsmouth
- Francis Cogswell (1887âÂÂ1939), U.S. Navy captain; Navy Cross recipient for actions during World War I
- Frederick Franklin (1840âÂÂ1873), U.S. Navy quartermaster; Medal of Honor recipient (1871 Korean Campaign)
- Mark G. Ham (1820âÂÂ1869), U.S. Navy sailor; Medal of Honor recipient (American Civil War)
- John Hart (1706âÂÂ1777), colonel in the New Hampshire militia
- Charles Hovey (1885âÂÂ1911), U.S. Navy officer (PhilippineâÂÂAmerican War)
- John Paul Jones (1747âÂÂ1792), "father" of U.S. Navy
- Nathaniel Meserve (1704âÂÂ1758), shipwright, soldier
- Enoch Greenleafe Parrott (1814âÂÂ1879), U.S. Navy rear admiral (MexicanâÂÂAmerican War and American Civil War)
- Fitz John Porter (1822âÂÂ1901), Union Army major general (American Civil War)
- Robert H. Wyman (1822âÂÂ1882), U.S. Navy rear admiral
Music
- Al Barr (born 1968), musician & lead singer of Dropkick Murphys and The Bruisers
- Gina Catalino (born 1984), singer-songwriter
- Ronnie James Dio (1942âÂÂ2010), heavy metal singer-songwriter, frontman for Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, and Heaven and Hell
- Geoff Palmer (born 1980), musician, singer, and songwriter. Member of The Connection, The Kurt Baker band, and The Queers
- Tom Rush (born 1941), singer-songwriter
- Bill Staines (1947âÂÂ2021), folk musician
- Joseph P King also known by the stage Joe Queer. Lead singer and guitarist of the punk rock band The Queers.
Politics
- Amos T. Akerman (1821âÂÂ1880), US attorney general
- Ichabod Bartlett (1786âÂÂ1853), US congressman
- Clifton Clagett (1762âÂÂ1829), US congressman
- Renny Cushing (1962âÂÂ2022), New Hampshire state representative
- Samuel Cushman (1783âÂÂ1851), US congressman
- John Cutt (1613âÂÂ1681), merchant, mill owner, and provincial president of New Hampshire
- Charles Cutts (1769âÂÂ1846), US senator
- Charles M. Dale (1893âÂÂ1978), mayor, state senator, and the 66th governor of New Hampshire
- William S. Damrell (1809âÂÂ1860), US congressman
- John A. Durkin (1936âÂÂ2012), US senator
- Eileen Foley (1918âÂÂ2016), eight-term mayor of Portsmouth (1968âÂÂ1971, 1984âÂÂ1985, 1988âÂÂ1997), state senator, and former minority leader of the New Hampshire Senate
- Ichabod Goodwin (1794âÂÂ1882), 34th governor of New Hampshire
- William Hale (1765âÂÂ1848), US congressman
- Nathaniel Appleton Haven (1762âÂÂ1831), US congressman
- Andrew Jarvis (1890âÂÂ1990), mayor and member of the Governor's Council
- Frank Jones (1832âÂÂ1902), businessman, US congressman, mayor
- John Langdon (1741âÂÂ1819), Founding Father of the United States, merchant, President pro tempore of the US senate, and the governor of New Hampshire (2nd, 4th, 8th & 10th)
- Woodbury Langdon (1739âÂÂ1805), Founding Father, merchant, statesman, judge; Delegate from New Hampshire to the Continental Congress
- Tobias Lear (1762âÂÂ1816), personal secretary to President George Washington; Lear served Washington from 1784 until the former-President's death in 1799
- Edward St. Loe Livermore (1762âÂÂ1832), US congressman
- Pierse Long (1739âÂÂ1789), colonel of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, merchant, US senator
- Henry B. Lovering (1841âÂÂ1911), US congressman
- Daniel Marcy (1809âÂÂ1893), US congressman
- Richard Martyn (1630âÂÂ1694), early Portsmouth representative, speaker of the house, chief justice
- John Fabyan Parrott (1767âÂÂ1836), US congressman and senator
- Charles H. Peaslee (1804âÂÂ1866), US congressman and lawyer
- Joseph Peirce (1748âÂÂ1812), US congressman and soldier
- John J. Perry (1811âÂÂ1897), US congressman
- Wesley Powell (1915âÂÂ1981), lawyer and 70th Governor of New Hampshire
- John Randall Reding (1805âÂÂ1892), US congressman
- James Sheafe (1755âÂÂ1829), US congressman and senator
- James R. Splaine (born 1947), New Hampshire state legislator, Portsmouth vice-mayor
- Clement Storer (1760âÂÂ1830), US congressman, senator
- Daniel Webster (1782âÂÂ1852), US senator from Massachusetts and the 14th and 19th US Secretary of State
- Benning Wentworth (1696âÂÂ1770), colonial governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766
- Sir John Wentworth (1737âÂÂ1820), the British colonial governor of New Hampshire at the time of the American Revolution; he was later also Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia
- William Whipple (1731âÂÂ1785), ship's captain, merchant, Founding Father, signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence; represented New Hampshire as a member of the Continental Congress from 1776 through 1779
- Oren Elbridge Wilson (1844âÂÂ1917), Mayor of Albany, New York, raised in Portsmouth
Religion
Sports
Slavery
Writing
- John Greenleaf Adams (1810âÂÂ1897), hymn writer
- Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836âÂÂ1907), poet, novelist, editor
- Helen Dore Boylston (1895âÂÂ1984), author
- Elliott Coues (1842âÂÂ1899), surgeon, historian, author
- Clayton Emery (born 1953), author
- James T. Fields (1817âÂÂ1881), publisher, author
- Harriet McEwen Kimball (1834âÂÂ1917), poet, hymnwriter, philanthropist, hospital co-founder
- Eliza Lee (1792âÂÂ1864), author
- John Lord (1810âÂÂ1894), historian, lecturer
- Samuel Penhallow (1665âÂÂ1726), historian, militia leader in present-day Maine during Queen Anne's War and Father Rale's War
- Benjamin Penhallow Shillaber (1814âÂÂ1890), printer, editor, humorist
- Celia Thaxter (1835âÂÂ1894), poet, writer
References