Jan. 13, 1968: Marine Lt. Alfred Russ, 24, of Hancock dies of wounds in Quang Tri Province. He is the 99th serviceman from New Hampshire to die during the Vietnam War.
Jan. 14, 2003: Two students from Holderness School are killed in a hit-and-run accident while walking along Route 175A in Plymouth.
Jan. 14, 2001: Concord’s Adam Young enjoys his view of the New York Giants’ 41-0 thrashing of the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC championship game. Although he’s only on the practice squad, Young is headed to Tampa for the Super Bowl.
Jan. 14, 1824: The “other Concord” – in the North Country – officially changes its name to Lisbon, ending confusion with New Hampshire’s capital city.
Jan. 14, 1973: Headline in the Atlanta Journal: “Yes sir, Georgia boy elected Yankee governor.” The topic: New Hampshire’s new governor, Mel Thomson.
Jan. 15, 1901: A young chicken farmer in Derry writes to a literary editor: “I send you this selection from the poems I have been writing with a view to a volume some day.” The editor publishes one of the poems but not until five years later will she hear again from Robert Frost.
Jan. 15, 1980: A federal judge dismisses author Kevin Cash’s libel suit against William Loeb. Loeb called Cash’s Who the Hell Is William Loeb? “purely a hatchet job, purely a hate book.” After the decision, Loeb’s lawyers also drop his suit against Cash.
Jan. 16, 1944: All flying and ground school aviation training is suddenly called to halt at Concord Airport. A private flying school under contract with the government had turned out more than 650 pilots for the War Training Service.
Jan. 16, 1973: Gov. Mel Thomson turns in his free lifetime pass to state parks and orders the cancellation of all other such passes. “Being elected to high office does not make the officeholder more equal than his fellow men,” he says.
Jan. 16, 1991: New Hampshire, along with the rest of the world, watches the start of the television war as U.S. missiles rain on Iraq.
Jan. 17, 2002: In her annual state of the state address, Gov. Jeanne Shaheen says New Hampshire needs an action plan to boost the economy and get people back to work. The state must extend benefits for laid-off workers, speed up approved state spending, boost tourism and foreign trade and train workers. “It is up to us to take on this economic battle with all the weapons in our fiscal arsenal – we cannot afford to hesitate and simply hope for better times,” she says.
Jan. 17, 2001: New Hampshire Public Radio announces plans to scrap its classical and jazz programming in favor of news and arts-oriented features. The change in format will prompt a lot of angry letters to the editor, but NHPR will go on to enjoy a record fund-raising campaign.
Jan. 17, 2000: New Hampshire celebrates its first official Martin Luther King Day, joining the other 49 states in so honoring the slain civil rights leader. Capping 20 years of political battles, the Legislature approved the holiday the previous May and Gov. Jeanne Shaheen signed it into law in June.
Jan. 17, 1942: Concord’s zoning board unanimously approves the Brezner Tannery’s takeover of an abandoned mill in Penacook. The tannery will open later in the year, creating 200 jobs.
Jan 17, 1726: Massachusetts grants permission to settle the area that will become Concord. A supervising committee screens would-be settlers. It wants just 100 families.
Jan. 17, 1948: Concord’s new mayor, Charles McKee, says he’s not giving up on plans for a new man-made lake on the Turkey River, despite voter opposition. “As I understand it, there was a lake there once, but someone pulled out the plug and it drained away. I am told it would be a comparatively simple matter to put the plug back in.”
Jan. 18, 2003: 200 people rally in front of the State House in Concord, protesting the possibility of military action in Iraq.
Jan. 18, 1742: John McColley is born in Hillsboro, that settlement’s first-born child. Years later, the settlement’s proprietor and namesake, Col. John Hill, will offer McColley and Elizabeth Gibson, Hillsboro’s first-born female, 100 acres if they agree to marry and settle in the town. They will accept the offer.
Jan. 18, 1782: Daniel Webster is born. His parents are Abigail (Nabby) Webster and Captain Ebenezer Webster. The future U.S. senator and renowned nationalist and orator is a frail child.
Jan. 18, 1982: New Hampshire is rattled by the worst earthquake in 42 years. In Concord, a city council meeting has just gotten under way. As Mayor David Coeyman gavels the meeting to order, the windows begin shaking and papers begin shuffling. “I will always remember this,” Coeyman says.
Jan. 19, 2002: In a case that shed harsh light on how the Catholic church deals with pedophilia in the clergy, a Cambridge, Mass., jury convicts John Geoghan, a defrocked priest, of fondling a boy 10 years ago. His conviction will call into question the role of New Hampshire Bishop John McCormack, who was in charge of handling abuse allegations against priests in Massachusetts during the time when the church is now accused of minimizing such cases.
Jan. 19, 1976: A federal judge says New Hampshire must pay the cost of abortions for welfare recipients during all stages of pregnancy.