Hugh Gregg (November 22, 1917September 24, 2003) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 68th

governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of the U.S. state 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 w ...

from 1953 to 1955, and was the youngest person ever elected to that office. He is the father of former

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

and Governor

Judd Gregg Judd Alan Gregg (born February 14, 1947) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 76th governor of New Hampshire from 1989 to 1993 and a United States senator from New Hampshire from 1993 to 2011 where he was Chairman of the Heal ...

of New Hampshire.

Life and career

A native of

Nashua, New Hampshire Nashua () is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester. It is on ...

, Gregg was the son of Margaret Prentiss (Richardson) and Harry Alan Gregg. He attended

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

. He graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1939 and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1942, after which he returned to Nashua and started a law practice. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, he served as in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

Counterintelligence Corps The Counter Intelligence Corps (Army CIC) was a World War II and early Cold War intelligence agency within the United States Army consisting of highly trained special agents. Its role was taken over by the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps in 1961 and ...

. A Republican, he was elected in 1947 as a city

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

, and was subsequently elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

in 1950, a term cut short because of military duty. He served again in Army Counterintelligence (1950–1952) during the

. In

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

, he was elected governor of New Hampshire, defeating Democratic nominee William Craig by 69,867 votes. During Gregg’s Term, he Helped to create the New Hampshire “whooper week” to promote the state’s industrial and agricultural resources, along with its tourism programs

Gregg Did not seek re-election in 1954 New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 1954, and was succeeded by fellow Republican Lane Dwinell

Gregg ran for governor again in 1958 New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 1958, but lost the Republican primary to Wesley Powell by 396 votes

He ran again in 1960 New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 1960, again losing to Powell This Time by 1,011 votes

He made one last campaign for governor in 1966 New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 1966, he won the Republican primary by 13,155 votes. in the general election he lost to incumbent Democratic governor John King by 18,623 votes

Gregg was also a local

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

man involved with the family mill-working business. He was instrumental in setting up the Nashua Foundation, which helped the city recover from the loss of

textile mills Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful good ...

in the 1950s, by recruiting new industry, including defense electronics firms and, later, Digital Equipment Corp. In later years, Gregg was best known for his defense of New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation presidential primary, as well as his contention that the Republican Party started in this state. in 1976 Gregg was Ronald Reagan's campaign manager in New Hampshire During the

1976 Republican Party presidential primaries From January 6 to July 14, 1976, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1976 United States presidential election. The major candidates were incumbent President Gerald Ford and former governor of California Ronald ...

Gregg was known for a sense of humor, reflected in a small hardback book he published, titled ''All I learned about politics, by Hugh Gregg''. All of its pages are blank. On September 24, 2003 Gregg Passed away in Lebanon New Hampshire

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregg, Judd 1917 births 2003 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in New Hampshire Republican Party governors of New Hampshire Mayors of Nashua, New Hampshire United States Army officers American Congregationalists Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Yale University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Politicians from Nashua, New Hampshire 20th-century New Hampshire politicians

Life and career

See also

References