Dec. 19, 1774: The British frigate Scarborough arrives at Portsmouth Harbor, the second of two ships whose presence quells an insurrection. In two raids during the week, dissident colonists have taken light cannons, muskets, and gunpowder from Fort William and Mary. The presence of the British ships is credited with keeping the dissidents from returning to seize the fort’s 45 heavy cannons.
Dec. 19, 1975: The state accepts as a gift the historic John Langdon house in Portsmouth, birthplace of an early New Hampshire governor.
Dec. 20, 1863: New Hampshire man Benjamin Brown French attends “the most brilliant” reception in his time as a White House aide to President Lincoln. Congress, the Cabinet, and the Supreme Court are all on hand. The guests of honor: a Russian delegation visiting the capital. “The Russian officers were magnificently uniformed,” writes French, “and exceedingly polite and stiff in their manners, as all foreigners appear to be to us free-and-easy ‘Yankees.’ ”
Dec. 21, 1999: Encouraged by a Vermont Supreme Court ruling the day before, gay rights advocates in this state say they will introduce legislation to confer on same-sex couples the same rights as married couples. Other advocates say it would be better to wait for the Vermont legislature to respond to the court ruling before acting.
Dec. 22, 2000: Former Nashua alderman Phil Grandmaison is among 59 people granted pardons by President Clinton. Grandmaison served nine months in prison for lobbying two colleagues on behalf of the construction company where he worked. His brother Joe is a former state Democratic Party chairman who worked for the Clinton administration.
Dec. 22, 1840: Belknap County is established.
Dec. 22, 1939: Fire destroys the first steamer Mount Washington.
Dec. 23, 1865: Home at last eight months after the last shots of the Civil War were fired, the Second New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry Regiment parades through the streets of Concord. Gov. Frederick Smyth and other dignitaries toast the regiment. Three days later, the Second will be paid off and discharged, having served longer than any other New Hampshire regiment.
