John H. Bartlett

John Henry Bartlett (March 15, 1869 – March 19, 1952) was a descendant of Josiah Bartlett, New Hampshire's first governor and a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence. John H. Bartlett was an American teacher, high school principal, lawyer, author and Republican politician from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1894 and served as the 57th governor of New Hampshire from 1919 to 1921.

Bartlett later served as president of the United States Civil Service Commission and was appointed as the first United States Assistant Postmaster General.

In 1929 he was appointed chairman of the United States section of the International Joint Commission for the United States and Canada, until his retirement in 1939.

Education and personal life

John Henry Bartlett was born on March 15, 1869, in Sunapee, New Hampshire, as the second son and third child of John Z. and Sophronia (Sargent) Bartlett. From 1890 to 1894, Bartlett attended Dartmouth College.

Bartlett affiliated with the Unitarian Church and was a Knight Templar Mason of DeWitt Clinton Commandery of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and a Knight of Pythias. Bartlett also published several books on New England and political topics.

John Henry Bartlett died at the age of 83 on March 19, 1952, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Political career

While teaching in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Bartlett studied law with Judge Calvin Page. He was admitted to the bar in 1898, becoming an associate of Judge Page.

Bartlett began to take an active part in political movements and allied with the Republican Party. He was elected postmaster of Portsmouth, New Hampshire on December 13, 1899, which he served until 1907. He served in the New Hampshire state House of Representatives before being elected governor in 1918. Declining to run for a second term, Bartlett served as president of the United States Civil Service Commission and was then appointed as the first United States Assistant Postmaster General in 1922, sponsoring the first transcontinental air mail service.

In 1929, he was appointed chairman of the United States section of the International Joint Commission for the United States and Canada, until his retirement in 1939. Bartlett won the election by over 6,000 votes and entered office on January 6, 1919, and served as the 65th Governor of New Hampshire until January 6, 1921.

During Bartlett's term, the state adopted an executive budget system and the state's employee liability law was revised. New Hampshire cities also secured the rights to acquire and operate interurban street railways.

Bartlett signed the purple lilac into law as the state flower of New Hampshire on March 28, 1919.

Published works

Books Dartmouth Athletics: A Complete History of All Kinds of Sports at the College. 1893 In Memoriam: Warren Gamaliel Harding 1923 Spice for Speeches 1926 Folks is Folks 1927 The Legend of Ann Smith: A New England Story in Verse 1931 The Bonus March and the New Deal 1937 A Synoptic History of the Granite State 1939 In Memoriam: Joseph Delmar Bartlett 1940 The Story of Sunapee 1941 Sketches From My Scrap Books and Diaries 1948

Addresses

Message of His Excellency John H. Bartlett, Governor of New Hampshire, to the Two Branches of the Legislature January 2, 1919 Address of John H. Bartlett: Before a Mass Meeting of the National Civil Service Reform League at Washington, D.C. April 27, 1922 Each Political Party Will Be Judged by its Presidential Candidate April 14, 1928