John Henry Bartlett | |
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| 57th Governor of New Hampshire | |
| In office January 6, 1919 – January 6, 1921 | |
| Preceded by | Henry W. Keyes |
| Succeeded by | Albert O. Brown |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1869-03-15)March 15, 1869 Sunapee, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Died | March 19, 1952(1952-03-19) (aged 83) Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican until 1939Democratic (1939–1952) |
| Spouses | |
| Signature | .png) |
John Henry Bartlett (March 15, 1869 – March 19, 1952) was a descendant ofJosiah Bartlett,[1]New Hampshire's firstgovernor and a signatory of theUnited States Declaration of Independence. John H. Bartlett was an American teacher, high school principal, lawyer, author andRepublican politician fromPortsmouth, New Hampshire. He graduated fromDartmouth College in 1894 and served as the 57thgovernor of New Hampshire from 1919 to 1921.
Bartlett later served as president of theUnited States Civil Service Commission and was appointed as the firstUnited States Assistant Postmaster General.
In 1929 he was appointed chairman of the United States section of theInternational Joint Commission for the United States andCanada, until his retirement in 1939.
John Henry Bartlett was born on March 15, 1869, inSunapee, New Hampshire, as the second son and third child of John Z. and Sophronia (Sargent) Bartlett.[2] Bartlett grew up in Sunapee and attended public school there through high school. Bartlett then attendedColby-Sawyer College inNew London, New Hampshire, at the time called Colby Academy.[2]From 1890 to 1894, Bartlett attendedDartmouth College.[2]After graduation he became a teacher at the high school inPortsmouth, New Hampshire. Bartlett taught for four years, the last two years also serving as principal to the school.[2]
Bartlett married Agnes Page, a daughter of Judge Calvin and Arabella J. (Moran) Page in June 1900. They had one son, Calvin Page Bartlett, born October 8, 1901.[2] They stayed married until her death on April 25, 1944. Later that year, Bartlett remarried to Mildred C. Lawson.[3]
Bartlett affiliated with theUnitarian Church and was aKnight Templar Mason of DeWitt Clinton Commandery ofPortsmouth, New Hampshire, and aKnight of Pythias.[2]
Throughout his life, he maintained an interest in education and his birthplace ofSunapee, New Hampshire. He was elected as a trustee ofColby-Sawyer College.[2] In 1955, three years after his death, a yearly scholarship award was established for students from Sunapee called the Governor John H. Bartlett Fund.[4] Bartlett also published several books onNew England and political topics.
John Henry Bartlett died at the age of 83 on March 19, 1952, inPortsmouth, New Hampshire.
While teaching inPortsmouth, New Hampshire, Bartlett studied law with Judge Calvin Page. He was admitted to thebar in 1898, becoming an associate of Judge Page.[2] Bartlett's most successful and important case wasWilliam Turner vs. Cocheco Manufacturing Company, in which a state law was established to furnish adequate fire escapes.[5]
Bartlett began to take an active part in political movements and allied with theRepublican Party. He was electedpostmaster ofPortsmouth, New Hampshire on December 13, 1899, which he served until 1907.[5] Bartlett left the position of postmaster to serve on former GovernorJohn McLane's staff. As a member of McLane's staff, he was given the rank ofcolonel and became responsible for making preparations for theRusso-Japanese War peace conference that led to the signing of theTreaty of Portsmouth officially ending that war.[6]
Former GovernorRobert P. Bass appointed Bartlett as the representative of the state ofNew Hampshire at the sixth annual meeting of theAmerican Academy of Political and Social Science, which was held at Philadelphia in March, 1912.[5]
In 1916, Bartlett presided over the Republican State Convention.[6]He served in theNew Hampshire state House of Representatives before being elected governor in 1918. Declining to run for a second term, Bartlett served as president of theUnited States Civil Service Commission and was then appointed as the first United States Assistant Postmaster General in 1922, sponsoring the first transcontinental air mail service.[7]
In 1929, he was appointed chairman of the United States section of theInternational Joint Commission for the United States andCanada, until his retirement in 1939.[6]
Bartlett'sNew Deal sympathies caused him to switch to theDemocratic Party, and he ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for theUnited States Congress.[6]
Throughout Bartlett's political career and after retirement, he spoke at events throughoutNew England and at graduation ceremonies.[5]
John Henry Bartlett ran for governor ofNew Hampshire in 1918 against Nathaniel E. Martin ofConcord, New Hampshire.[8] Bartlett won the election by over 6,000 votes and entered office on January 6, 1919, and served as the 65thGovernor of New Hampshire until January 6, 1921.[9]
During Bartlett's term, the state adopted anexecutive budget system and the state's employee liability law was revised.New Hampshire cities also secured the rights to acquire and operateinterurbanstreet railways.
Bartlett signed thepurple lilac into law as the state flower ofNew Hampshire on March 28, 1919.[10]
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of New Hampshire 1918 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of New Hampshire 1919–1921 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
| Other | |
