List of people from Portsmouth, New Hampshire

See also: Category:People from Portsmouth, New Hampshire

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

Market Square c. 1905

Academics and science

• John Knowlton Bartlett (1816–1899), physician^[1]
• Edmund March Blunt (1770–1862), navigator, publisher^[2]
• E. Warren Clark (1849–1907), educator^[3]
• Alfred L. Elwyn (1804–1884), physician, pioneer in the training and care of the mentally disabled^[4]
• Laurence G. Leavitt (1903–2000), headmaster of Vermont Academy^[5]
• Richard A. Searfoss (1956–2018), astronaut^[6]
• Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford (1753–1814), physicist, inventor; Count of the Holy Roman Empire^[7]
• Frederick Pearson Treadwell (1857–1918), chemist^[8]

Arts and architecture

• Alfred Thompson Bricher (1837–1908), artist^[9]
• Marc Drogin (1936–2017), writer and illustrator^{[10][self-published source][self-published source]}
• William Harrison Folsom (1815–1901), architect^[11]
• Jim McDermott (born 1960), painter, illustrator, cartoonist^{[citation needed]}

Business

• Brooke Astor (1902–2007), socialite, philanthropist; chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation^[12]
• Robert Harris (1830–1894), railway president^[13]
• Paul Waterman (1964-present), businessman, conservationist, owner of the Library Restaurant^[14]

Judiciary

• Edward Henry Durell (1810–1887), US federal judge^[15]
• John L. Rand (1861–1942), 22nd Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court^[16]
• John Samuel Sherburne (1757–1830), soldier, US federal judge^[17]
• Samuel Treat (1815–1902), US federal judge^[18]
• Joshua Winslow (1726–1801), soldier, politician, judge^[19]

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^[20]
• Peter Bonerz (born 1938), actor, director^[21]
• Samantha Brown (born 1970), Travel Channel host, TV personality^[22]
• William F. Haddock (1877–1969), film director of the silent film era^[23]
• Jean Kasem (born 1954), actress^[24]
• Milton Selzer (1918–2006), stage, film, and television actor^[25]
• Ilene Woods (1929–2010), actress, voice of Cinderella^[26]

Military

• Charles C. Carpenter (1834–1899), United States Navy rear admiral who rose to command of the Asiatic Squadron; resided in Portsmouth^[27]
• Francis Cogswell (1887–1939), U.S. Navy captain; Navy Cross recipient for actions during World War I^[28]
• Frederick Franklin (1840–1873), U.S. Navy quartermaster; Medal of Honor recipient (1871 Korean Campaign)^[29]
• Mark G. Ham (1820–1869), U.S. Navy sailor; Medal of Honor recipient (American Civil War)^[30]
• John Hart (1706–1777), colonel in the New Hampshire militia^[31]
• Charles Hovey (1885–1911), U.S. Navy officer (Philippine–American War)^[32]
• John Paul Jones (1747–1792), "father" of U.S. Navy^[33]
• Nathaniel Meserve (1704–1758), shipwright, soldier^[34]
• Enoch Greenleafe Parrott (1814–1879), U.S. Navy rear admiral (Mexican–American War and American Civil War)^[35]
• Fitz John Porter (1822–1901), Union Army major general (American Civil War)^[36]
• Robert H. Wyman (1822–1882), U.S. Navy rear admiral^[37]

Music

• Al Barr (born 1968), musician^[38] & lead singer of Dropkick Murphys and The Bruisers
• Gina Catalino (born 1984), singer-songwriter^[39]
• Ronnie James Dio (1942–2010), heavy metal singer-songwriter,^[40] 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^[41]
• Bill Staines (born 1947), 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^[42]
• Ichabod Bartlett (1786–1853), US congressman^[43]
• Clifton Clagett (1762–1829), US congressman^[44]
• Renny Cushing (1962–2022), New Hampshire state representative^[45]
• Samuel Cushman (1783–1851), US congressman^[46]
• John Cutt (1613–1681), merchant, mill owner, and provincial president of New Hampshire^[47]
• Charles Cutts (1769–1846), US senator^[48]
• Charles M. Dale (1893–1978), mayor, state senator, and the 66th governor of New Hampshire^[49]
• William S. Damrell (1809–1860), US congressman^[50]
• John A. Durkin (1936–2012), US senator^[51]
• 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^[52]
• Ichabod Goodwin (1794–1882), 34th governor of New Hampshire^[53]
• William Hale (1765–1848), US congressman^[54]
• Nathaniel Appleton Haven (1762–1831), US congressman^[55]
• Andrew Jarvis (1890–1990), mayor and member of the Governor's Council^[56]
• Frank Jones (1832–1902), businessman, US congressman, mayor^[57]
• 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)^[58]
• Woodbury Langdon (1739–1805), Founding Father, merchant, statesman, judge; Delegate from New Hampshire to the Continental Congress^[59]
• Tobias Lear (1762–1816), personal secretary to President George Washington; Lear served Washington from 1784 until the former-President's death in 1799^[60]
• Edward St. Loe Livermore (1762–1832), US congressman^[61]
• Pierse Long (1739–1789), colonel of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, merchant, US senator^[62]
• Henry B. Lovering (1841–1911), US congressman^[63]
• Daniel Marcy (1809–1893), US congressman^[64]
• Richard Martyn (1630–1694), early Portsmouth representative, speaker of the house, chief justice^[65]
• John Fabyan Parrott (1767–1836), US congressman and senator^[66]
• Charles H. Peaslee (1804–1866), US congressman and lawyer^[67]
• Joseph Peirce (1748–1812), US congressman and soldier^[68]
• John J. Perry (1811–1897), US congressman^[69]
• Wesley Powell (1915–1981), lawyer and 70th Governor of New Hampshire^[70]
• John Randall Reding (1805–1892), US congressman^[71]
• James Sheafe (1755–1829), US congressman and senator^[72]
• James R. Splaine (born 1947), New Hampshire state legislator, Portsmouth vice-mayor^[73]
• Clement Storer (1760–1830), US congressman, senator^[74]
• Daniel Webster (1782–1852), US senator from Massachusetts and the 14th and 19th US Secretary of State^[75]
• Benning Wentworth (1696–1770), colonial governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766^[76]
• 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^[77]
• 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^[78]

Religion

• Joseph Stevens Buckminster (1784–1812), minister^[79]
• Samuel Langdon (1723–1797), clergyman, educator, college president^[80]
• Samuel Parker (1744–1804), bishop^[81]

Sports

• Jane Blalock (born 1945), golfer with the LPGA Tour^[82]
• 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^[83]

Slavery

• Oney Judge (1773–1848), runaway slave^[84]
• Prince Whipple (1750–1796), slave^[85]

Writing

• John Greenleaf Adams (1810–1897), hymn writer^[86]
• Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836–1907), poet, novelist, editor^[87]
• Helen Dore Boylston (1895–1984), author^[88]
• Elliott Coues (1842–1899), surgeon, historian, author^[89]
• Clayton Emery (born 1953), author^[90]
• James T. Fields (1817–1881), publisher, author^[91]
• Harriet McEwen Kimball (1834–1917), poet, hymnwriter, philanthropist, hospital co-founder
• Eliza Lee (1792–1864), author^[92]
• John Lord (1810–1894), historian, lecturer ^[93]
• Samuel Penhallow (1665–1726), historian, militia leader in present-day Maine during Queen Anne's War and Father Rale's War^[94]
• Benjamin Penhallow Shillaber (1814–1890), printer, editor, humorist^[95]
• Celia Thaxter (1835–1894), poet, writer^[96]

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