John William King (October 10, 1916 – August 9, 1996) was an American lawyer, jurist, and Democratic

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

from

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the most populous city in New Hampshire. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 115,644. Manchester is, along with Nashua, one of two seats of New Ha ...

. He received his undergraduate degree from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

and his law degree from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

in 1943. He practiced law in Manchester and served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. In 1962 he was elected governor of New Hampshire, becoming only the third Democratic governor of the Granite State in 88 years, and the first since Fred Herbert Brown lost the 1924 election. After his three terms as the 71st

governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Verm ...

, he served on the

New Hampshire Supreme Court The New Hampshire Supreme Court is the supreme court of the U. S. state of New Hampshire and sole appellate court of the state. The Supreme Court is seated in the state capital, Concord. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and four Associat ...

from 1979, and as its Chief Justice from 1981 until 1986. As Governor, King instituted the first state lottery in the nation since 1894. He was a major hawk and a fierce supporter of President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

and the 1968 presidential election. During his attacks on Senator Eugene McCarthy, Johnson's challenger in the New Hampshire primary, King questioned McCarthy's national loyalty and also warned that a strong vote for ''"the appeaser,"'' would be ''"greeted with cheers in

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

."'' King was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

and after his death in 1996 he was buried in the New St. Joseph's Cemetery in

Bedford, New Hampshire Bedford is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 23,322, reflecting a growth of 10% from 2010. Bedford is a suburb of Manchester, New Hampshire's largest city. History In 1733, the P ...

References

External links

King at New Hampshire's Division of Historic ResourcesNational Governors Association profile
* 1916 births 1996 deaths Politicians from Manchester, New Hampshire Columbia Law School alumni New Hampshire lawyers Democratic Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Democratic Party governors of New Hampshire Chief Justices of the New Hampshire Supreme Court 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges Harvard College alumni Catholics from New Hampshire 20th-century American politicians {{NewHampshire-politician-stub