Dec. 13, 2001: Less than five days after being introduced as Notre Dame’s football coach, George O’Leary resigns amid revelations that he falsified information about his academic credentials and playing career. He admits that he lied about playing football for three years for the University of New Hampshire, which he listed on his resume.
Dec. 13, 1774: Paul Revere gallops into Portsmouth to urge dissidents there to guard their arms and gunpowder because of Parliament’s recently passed ban on the export of munitions to the American colonies. His warning leads to a false rumor that British troops are marching north to guard the arsenal in Fort William and Mary in Portsmouth Harbor.
Dec. 13, 1976: The New York City traffic department says New Hampshire residents owe about $1.3 million in overdue parking fines for more than 34,600 tickets. Safety Commissioner Dick Flynn says the number seems “extremely high” to him.
Dec. 13, 1776: The Continental Congress authorizes the building of 13 warships to combat the British. John Langdon, member of Congress and a Portsmouth merchant, is appointed to oversee the construction of one of them, a 32-gun frigate to be built at Portsmouth. It will be called the Raleigh.
Dec. 13, 1776: Washington, New Hampshire, becomes the first town named after the general.
Dec. 13, 1978: Attorney General Warren Rudman calls on the Legislature to pass a bill reinstating capital punishment in New Hampshire. Chuck Douglas, legal counsel to Gov. Mel Thomson, echoes the attorney general.
Dec. 15, 1987: Just before noontime, Gary Hart and his wife Lee stroll onto the State House Plaza, where the media horde waits. After having dropped out in May because of highly publicized womanizing, Hart announces that he is back in the Democratic race for president. “I have the power of ideas,” he says, “and I can govern this country.”
