Nov. 19, 1863: New Hampshireman Benjamin Brown French accompanies President Lincoln to the cemetery at the Gettysburg battlefield. After Lincoln’s address, French writes in his journal: “Anyone who saw and heard as I did, the hurricane of applause that met his every movement at Gettysburg would know that he lived in every heart. . . . It was the spontaneous outburst of heartfelt confidence in their own President.”
Nov. 19, 2000: In classrooms around the state, the drawn-out presidential election is providing great fodder for civics lessons. “These are excellent times for teachers who are teaching government classes,” says Gary Baker of Kearsarge Regional High School.
Nov 20, 1845: Levi Woodbury of Portsmouth is appointed to the U.S Supreme Court.
Nov. 20, 2000: Six weeks after his impeachment trial acquittal, state Supreme Court Justice David Brock says the public’s faith in the judiciary has not been shaken. “I don’t see this as a long-term problem,” he tells the Monitor.
Nov. 20, 2001: In Barnstead, support for building a high school with Alton is almost unanimous. Residents vote 212 to 3 in favor of an agreement to build the school.
Nov. 21, 1951: Peter MacPherson, the last survivor of a crew which built the cog railway up New England’s highest peak, 6,288-foot Mt. Washington, dies at the age of 100. He worked the scenic railroad in 1866 and was also the surviving member of the crew which built the railroad through Crawford Notch.
Nov. 21, 2000: Frank Monahan, a basketball coach revered locally and well-known nationally, dies of a heart attack at age 60. His coaching career included stints at Bishop Brady High School, Concord High School and Merrimack College and in the United States Basketball League. He also worked as an NBA talent scout in New England.
Nov. 21, 2001: The Brick Tower, the last independently owned motel in Concord, will close at the end of the month. The 47-room motel, which opened in 1958, could not compete with the newer hotels in the area.
Nov. 22, 1917: Hugh Gregg is born. He will become governor of New Hampshire (1953-55), as will his son Judd.
Nov. 22, 1943: The town of Randolph makes a place in the record books when the largest 24-hour snowfall in the U.S. is recorded: 56 inches in a single storm.
Nov. 22, 1963: New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller’s schedule for a three-day campaign visit to New Hampshire is on the front page of the Monitor, but the trip will be canceled because of the lead story of the day: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Nov. 23, 1804: Franklin Pierce is born in Hillsboro. He will become the nation’s 14th president, and the only president ever from New Hampshire.
Nov. 23, 1814: On the U.S. House floor, a speech by Rep. Daniel Webster of New Hampshire is interrupted by news that Vice President Elbridge Gerry has died.
Nov. 23, 1911: The New Hampshire Historical Society dedicates its building in Concord. The building was designed by Guy Lowell, also architect of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and financed by philanthropist Edward Tuck. The society was previously housed on North Main Street in what are now the law offices of Gallagher, Callahan and Gartrell.
Nov. 23, 2001: Robby Gordon bumps Jeff Gordon on the way to the winner’s circle, claiming his first Winston Cup victory.
Nov. 24, 1736: Hopkinton is granted status as an independent township.
Nov. 24, 2001: Prosecutors encourage hikers to travel with a companion and use caution after a Canadian woman was found stabbed to death on Mount Washington.
Nov. 24, 2003: In Manchester a jury rules in favor of tobacco giant Philip Morris in the case of a woman who blamed Marlboros for the lung cancer that killed her husband. It is the first tobacco case to go to trial in New Hampshire.
