The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Academics and science
John Knowlton Bartlett (1816–1899), physician Edmund March Blunt (1770–1862), navigator, publisher E. Warren Clark (1849–1907), educator Elliott Coues (1842–1899), army surgeon, historian, ornithologist, and author Alfred L. Elwyn (1804–1884), physician, pioneer in the training and care of the mentally disabled Laurence G. Leavitt (1903–2000), headmaster of Vermont Academy Richard A. Searfoss (1956–2018), astronaut Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford (1753–1814), physicist, inventor; count of the Holy Roman Empire Frederick Pearson Treadwell (1857–1918), chemist Elizabeth Virgil (1903–1991), educator
Arts and architecture
Alfred Thompson Bricher (1837–1908), artist Marc Drogin (1936–2017), writer and illustrator William H. Folsom (1815–1901), architect Jim McDermott (born 1960), painter, illustrator, cartoonist
Business
Brooke Astor (1902–2007), socialite, philanthropist; chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation Robert Harris (1830–1894), railway president Paul Waterman (1964–present), businessman, conservationist, owner of the Library Restaurant
Judiciary
Edward Henry Durell (1810–1887), US federal judge John L. Rand (1861–1942), 22nd chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court John Samuel Sherburne (1757–1830), soldier, US federal judge Samuel Treat (1815–1902), US federal judge Joshua Winslow (1726–1801), soldier, politician, judge
Media
Bill Alfonso (born 1957), former pro wrestling referee and manager (born William Matthew Sierra in Portsmouth) Tom Bergeron (born 1955), TV presenter, game show host Peter Bonerz (born 1938), actor, director Samantha Brown (born 1970), Travel Channel host, TV personality William F. Haddock (1877–1969), film director of the silent film era Jean Kasem (born 1954), actress Milton Selzer (1918–2006), stage, film, and television actor Ilene Woods (1929–2010), actress, voice of Cinderella
Military
Charles C. Carpenter (1834–1899), United States Navy rear admiral who rose to command of the Asiatic Squadron; resided in PortsmouthAnonymous. "Naval Officers Suicide: Rear Admiral Carpenter Takes His Own Life at Boston," The New York Times, April 3, 1899. Francis Cogswell (1887–1939), U.S. Navy captain; Navy Cross recipient for actions during World War I Frederick Franklin (1840–1873), U.S. Navy quartermaster; Medal of Honor recipient (1871 Korean Campaign) Mark G. Ham (1820–1869), U.S. Navy sailor; Medal of Honor recipient (American Civil War) John Hart (1706–1777), colonel in the New Hampshire militia Charles Hovey (1885–1911), U.S. Navy officer (Philippine–American War) John Paul Jones (1747–1792), "father" of U.S. Navy Nathaniel Meserve (1704–1758), shipwright, soldier Enoch Greenleafe Parrott (1814–1879), U.S. Navy rear admiral (Mexican–American War and American Civil War) Fitz John Porter (1822–1901), Union Army major general (American Civil War) Robert H. Wyman (1822–1882), U.S. Navy rear admiral
Music
Al Barr (born 1968), musician and lead singer of Dropkick Murphys and The Bruisers Gina Catalino (born 1984), singer-songwriter Ronnie James Dio (1942–2010), heavy metal singer-songwriter, frontman for Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, and Heaven and Hell Geoff Palmer (born 1980), musician, singer, and songwriter; member of The Connection, the Kurt Baker band, and The Queers Tom Rush (born 1941), singer-songwriter Bill Staines (1947–2021), folk musician
Politics
Amos T. Akerman (1821–1880), US attorney general Ichabod Bartlett (1786–1853), US congressman Clifton Clagett (1762–1829), US congressman Renny Cushing (1962–2022), New Hampshire state representativeRobert Reynolds "Renny" Cushing-biography Samuel Cushman (1783–1851), US congressman John Cutt (1613–1681), merchant, mill owner, and provincial president of New Hampshire Charles Cutts (1769–1846), US senator Charles M. Dale (1893–1978), mayor, state senator, and the 66th governor of New Hampshire William S. Damrell (1809–1860), US congressman John A. Durkin (1936–2012), US senator Eileen Foley (1918–2016), eight-term mayor of Portsmouth (1968–1971, 1984–1985, 1988–1997), state senator, and former minority leader of the New Hampshire Senate Ichabod Goodwin (1794–1882), 34th governor of New Hampshire William Hale (1765–1848), US congressman Nathaniel Appleton Haven (1762–1831), US congressman Andrew Jarvis (1890–1990), mayor and member of the Governor's Council Frank Jones (1832–1902), businessman, US congressman, mayor John Langdon (1741–1819), Founding Father of the United States, merchant, president pro tempore of the US senate, and the governor of New Hampshire (2nd, 4th, 8th & 10th) Woodbury Langdon (1739–1805), Founding Father, merchant, statesman, judge; delegate from New Hampshire to the Continental Congress Tobias Lear (1762–1816), personal secretary to President George Washington; served Washington from 1784 until the former president's death in 1799 Edward St. Loe Livermore (1762–1832), US congressman Pierse Long (1739–1789), colonel of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, merchant, US senator Henry B. Lovering (1841–1911), US congressman Garreth Lynch (1943–2026), member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Daniel Marcy (1809–1893), US congressman Richard Martyn (1630–1694), early Portsmouth representative, speaker of the house, chief justice John Fabyan Parrott (1767–1836), US congressman and senator Charles H. Peaslee (1804–1866), US congressman and lawyer Joseph Peirce (1748–1812), US congressman and soldier John J. Perry (1811–1897), US congressman Wesley Powell (1915–1981), lawyer and 70th governor of New Hampshire John Randall Reding (1805–1892), US congressman James Sheafe (1755–1829), US congressman and senator James R. Splaine (born 1947), New Hampshire state legislator, Portsmouth vice-mayorVotesmart.org.-James R, Splaine Clement Storer (1760–1830), US congressman, senator Daniel Webster (1782–1852), US senator from Massachusetts and the 14th and 19th US secretary of state Benning Wentworth (1696–1770), colonial governor of New Hampshire 1741–1766 Sir John Wentworth (1737–1820), British colonial governor of New Hampshire at the time of the American Revolution; later also lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia William Whipple (1731–1785), ship's captain, merchant, Founding Father, signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence; represented New Hampshire as a member of the Continental Congress 1776–1779 Oren Elbridge Wilson (1844–1917), mayor of Albany, New York, raised in Portsmouth
Religion
Joseph Stevens Buckminster (1784–1812), minister Samuel Langdon (1723–1797), clergyman, educator, college president Samuel Parker (1744–1804), bishop
Sports
Jane Blalock (born 1945), golfer with the LPGA Tour George Haddock (1866–1926), Major League Baseball pitcher 1888–1894 Eric Jenkins (born 1991), Olympic 1500m athlete Josh Owens (born 1988), basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League Dick Scott (1933–2020), pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs
Slavery
Oney Judge (1773–1848), runaway slave
Writing
John Greenleaf Adams (1810–1897), hymn writer Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836–1907), poet, novelist, editor Helen Dore Boylston (1895–1984), author Elliott Coues (1842–1899), surgeon, historian, author Clayton Emery (born 1953), author James T. Fields (1817–1881), publisher, author Harriet McEwen Kimball (1834–1917), poet, hymnwriter, philanthropist, hospital co-founder Eliza Lee (1792–1864), author John Lord (1810–1894), historian, lecturer Samuel Penhallow (1665–1726), historian, militia leader in present-day Maine during Queen Anne's War and Father Rale's War Benjamin Penhallow Shillaber (1814–1890), printer, editor, humorist Celia Thaxter (1835–1894), poet, writer
References