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Higher Office(s) Served: None, Representative

Military Service: Marines

War(s) Served:  World War I

SHERMAN ADAMS, the seventy-seventh governor of New Hampshire, was born in East Dover, Vermont on January 8, 1899. His early education was attained in the public schools, and later he attended Dartmouth College, where he graduated in 1920. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War I, Adams established a successful business career, with holdings in the banking and lumber industries. He first entered politics as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, a position he held from 1941 to 1944, and from which he also served as house speaker in 1943 and 1944. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1945 to 1947; and was a delegate to the 1944 and 1952 Republican National Conventions. Adams next secured the Republican gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor by a popular vote in 1948. He won reelection to a second term in 1950. During his tenure, the state's operations were restructured; state aid for the aged was lobbied for; and economic measures were initiated in state agencies. After leaving the governorship, Adams secured an appointment to serve as President Eisenhower's chief of staff, a position he held from 1953 to 1958. He became involved in lecturing, as well as writing; and later was instrumental in establishing a ski resort. Governor L. Sherman Adams passed away on October 27, 1986, and was buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Lincoln, New Hampshire.

Sources:

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

Find A Grave

New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 3, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.