List of people from Portsmouth, New Hampshire

The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Academics and science

• John Knowlton Bartlett (1816–1899), physician
• Edmund March Blunt (1770–1862), navigator, publisher
• E. Warren Clark (1849–1907), educator
• Alfred L. Elwyn (1804–1884), physician, pioneer in the training and care of the mentally disabled
• Laurence G. Leavitt (1903–2000), headmaster of Vermont Academy
• Richard A. Searfoss (1956–2018), astronaut
• Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford (1753–1814), physicist, inventor; Count of the Holy Roman Empire
• Frederick Pearson Treadwell (1857–1918), chemist
• Elizabeth Virgil (1903–1991), educator

Arts and architecture

• Alfred Thompson Bricher (1837–1908), artist
• Marc Drogin (1936–2017), writer and illustrator
• William Harrison Folsom (1815–1901), architect
• Jim McDermott (born 1960), painter, illustrator, cartoonist

Business

• Brooke Astor (1902–2007), socialite, philanthropist; chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation
• Robert Harris (1830–1894), railway president
• Paul Waterman (1964–present), businessman, conservationist, owner of the Library Restaurant

Judiciary

• Edward Henry Durell (1810–1887), US federal judge
• John L. Rand (1861–1942), 22nd Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
• John Samuel Sherburne (1757–1830), soldier, US federal judge
• Samuel Treat (1815–1902), US federal judge
• Joshua Winslow (1726–1801), soldier, politician, judge

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 (1877–1969), film director of the silent film era
• Jean Kasem (born 1954), actress
• Milton Selzer (1918–2006), stage, film, and television actor
• Ilene Woods (1929–2010), actress, voice of Cinderella

Military

• Charles C. Carpenter (1834–1899), United States Navy rear admiral who rose to command of the Asiatic Squadron; resided in Portsmouth
• Francis Cogswell (1887–1939), U.S. Navy captain; Navy Cross recipient for actions during World War I
• Frederick Franklin (1840–1873), U.S. Navy quartermaster; Medal of Honor recipient (1871 Korean Campaign)
• Mark G. Ham (1820–1869), U.S. Navy sailor; Medal of Honor recipient (American Civil War)
• John Hart (1706–1777), colonel in the New Hampshire militia
• Charles Hovey (1885–1911), U.S. Navy officer (Philippine–American War)
• John Paul Jones (1747–1792), "father" of U.S. Navy
• Nathaniel Meserve (1704–1758), shipwright, soldier
• Enoch Greenleafe Parrott (1814–1879), U.S. Navy rear admiral (Mexican–American War and American Civil War)
• Fitz John Porter (1822–1901), Union Army major general (American Civil War)
• Robert H. Wyman (1822–1882), 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 (1942–2010), 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 (1947–2021), 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 (1821–1880), US attorney general
• Ichabod Bartlett (1786–1853), US congressman
• Clifton Clagett (1762–1829), US congressman
• Renny Cushing (1962–2022), New Hampshire state representative
• Samuel Cushman (1783–1851), US congressman
• John Cutt (1613–1681), merchant, mill owner, and provincial president of New Hampshire
• Charles Cutts (1769–1846), US senator
• Charles M. Dale (1893–1978), mayor, state senator, and the 66th governor of New Hampshire
• William S. Damrell (1809–1860), US congressman
• John A. Durkin (1936–2012), US senator
• Eileen Foley (1918–2016), eight-term mayor of Portsmouth (1968–1971, 1984–1985, 1988–1997), state senator, and former minority leader of the New Hampshire Senate
• Ichabod Goodwin (1794–1882), 34th governor of New Hampshire
• William Hale (1765–1848), US congressman
• Nathaniel Appleton Haven (1762–1831), US congressman
• Andrew Jarvis (1890–1990), mayor and member of the Governor's Council
• Frank Jones (1832–1902), businessman, US congressman, mayor
• John Langdon (1741–1819), 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 (1739–1805), Founding Father, merchant, statesman, judge; Delegate from New Hampshire to the Continental Congress
• Tobias Lear (1762–1816), personal secretary to President George Washington; Lear served Washington from 1784 until the former-President's death in 1799
• Edward St. Loe Livermore (1762–1832), US congressman
• Pierse Long (1739–1789), colonel of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, merchant, US senator
• Henry B. Lovering (1841–1911), US congressman
• Daniel Marcy (1809–1893), US congressman
• Richard Martyn (1630–1694), early Portsmouth representative, speaker of the house, chief justice
• John Fabyan Parrott (1767–1836), US congressman and senator
• Charles H. Peaslee (1804–1866), US congressman and lawyer
• Joseph Peirce (1748–1812), US congressman and soldier
• John J. Perry (1811–1897), US congressman
• Wesley Powell (1915–1981), lawyer and 70th Governor of New Hampshire
• John Randall Reding (1805–1892), US congressman
• James Sheafe (1755–1829), US congressman and senator
• James R. Splaine (born 1947), New Hampshire state legislator, Portsmouth vice-mayor
• Clement Storer (1760–1830), US congressman, senator
• Daniel Webster (1782–1852), US senator from Massachusetts and the 14th and 19th US Secretary of State
• Benning Wentworth (1696–1770), colonial governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766
• Sir John Wentworth (1737–1820), 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 (1731–1785), 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 (1844–1917), Mayor of Albany, New York, raised in Portsmouth

Religion

• Joseph Stevens Buckminster (1784–1812), minister
• Samuel Langdon (1723–1797), clergyman, educator, college president
• Samuel Parker (1744–1804), bishop

Sports

• Jane Blalock (born 1945), golfer with the LPGA Tour
• George Haddock (1866–1926), Major League Baseball pitcher from 1888 to 1894
• Eric Jenkins (born 1991), Olympic 1500m athlete
• Josh Owens (born 1988), basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Dick Scott (1933–2020), pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs

Slavery

• Oney Judge (1773–1848), runaway slave

Writing

• John Greenleaf Adams (1810–1897), hymn writer
• Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836–1907), poet, novelist, editor
• Helen Dore Boylston (1895–1984), author
• Elliott Coues (1842–1899), surgeon, historian, author
• Clayton Emery (born 1953), author
• James T. Fields (1817–1881), publisher, author
• Harriet McEwen Kimball (1834–1917), poet, hymnwriter, philanthropist, hospital co-founder
• Eliza Lee (1792–1864), author
• John Lord (1810–1894), historian, lecturer
• Samuel Penhallow (1665–1726), historian, militia leader in present-day Maine during Queen Anne's War and Father Rale's War
• Benjamin Penhallow Shillaber (1814–1890), printer, editor, humorist
• Celia Thaxter (1835–1894), poet, writer

References