State Web Site

JOHN H. BARTLETT, the sixty-sixth governor of New Hampshire, was born in Sunapee, New Hampshire on March 15, 1869. His education was attained at Dartmouth College, where he graduated in 1894. While studying law in Portsmouth, Bartlett taught school, as well as serving as a high school principal. In 1894 he was admitted to the bar, and then went on to establish a successful legal practice in Portsmouth. Bartlett also had a career as a public servant. He was the postmaster of Portsmouth from 1899 to 1907; served on Governor McLane's staff from 1905 to 1906; and was instrumental in making the preparations for the Russo-Japanese Peace Conference in Portsmouth. He also presided over the 1916 Republican State Convention; and served as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1917 to 1918. Bartlett next secured the Republican gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor by a popular vote in 1918. During his tenure, the state employee liability law was improved; an executive budget plan was initiated; and legislation was enacted that granted cities the power to own and operate street railways. After declining to run for a second term, Bartlett secured an appointment to serve as president of the U.S. Civil Service Commission. He also served as first assistant U.S. postmaster-general in 1922; and was chairman of the U.S. section of the Joint International Commission for the U.S. and Canada, a post he held from 1929 to 1939. Governor John H. Bartlett, who was the author of several books, passed away on March 19, 1952. He was buried in the Harmony Grove Cemetery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Sources:

New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources

The Political Graveyard

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.

Wikipedia.org