Compiled by Russell Bastedo
State Curator
1998

John W. King (1963-1969). Born Manchester; Manchester lawyer. In state politics from 1957.

John King (1918-1994) was born and raised in Manchester. King graduated from Harvard University (A.B. 1938; M.A. in Public Law (1941); he received his LL.B. from Columbia University (1943).

King was admitted to the New York Bar in 1942 and practiced in New York 1942/8; then he returned to Manchester to set up practice. He was active in state affairs and was chairman of the Manchester delegation in the State House of Representatives (1957). He served as [Democratic] Minority Leader of the House (1959-60; 1961-62), then entered the 1962 Democratic gubernatorial primary, won and won the general election with the endorsement of outgoing (Republican) governor Wesley M. Powell. King repeated as governor twice more in the decade before retiring.

King was one of three Democrats elected governor in New Hampshire during the twentieth century (Hugh Gallen [1979/82] was the second; Governor Jeanne Shaheen became the third in 1996). King was able to work well with the Republican legislative majority, and his signal contribution to the state was the creation of the New Hampshire Sweepstakes lottery, a lottery subsequently copied by many American states. With proceeds from the lottery, King was able to develop a statewide university system, expanding state colleges and developing technical schools. He modernized the state courts system, and expanded home rule for New Hampshire cities. He established a Coordinator of Federal Funds position. During his years in office, the Robert Frost Homestead became a State of New Hampshire historic property.

King served as a N.H. Superior Court Justice (1969-1979) and as an Associate Justice on the N.H. Supreme Court (1979-1981).

Location: State House, Second Floor
Portrait by Richard Whitney, 1993; Presented 1993