John Carleton (September 13, 1899– January 21, 1977) was an American lawyer and competitive skier from

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. He competed in cross-country skiing and Nordic combined at the

1924 Winter Olympics The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Chamonix 1924 (), were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. Originally held in association with the 1924 Summer ...

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

. He was also a pioneer of alpine skiing in the United States.

Scholastics

Carleton graduated from Hanover High School,

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

in Andover,

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

. While at Dartmouth, he was elected to

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

, member of

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest Fraternities and sororities, fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active Colony (fraternity or sorority), colonies across No ...

fraternity, vice-president of Palaeopitus, vice-president of the

Dartmouth Outing Club The Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC) is a collegiate outing club in the United States. Proposed in 1909 by Dartmouth College student Fred Harris to "stimulate interest in out-of-door winter sports", the club soon grew to encompass the college's year- ...

and member of Cabin and Trail, and the

Casque and Gauntlet Casque and Gauntlet (also known as C&G and the Casque and Gauntler Senior Society) is the second-oldest senior society at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The mission statement of the organization is: "to unite in fellowship men and wo ...

senior society. In 1922, he won a

Rhodes scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

, and graduated with a law degree from Oxford's Magdalen College in 1925.

Sports

Gustav Paulsen taught Carleton to somersault on skis off a ski jump, which he first performed as an exhibition at the Dartmouth Winter Field Day in 1910. At Dartmouth he competed on the tennis team each year, and was a 1919 New England doubles champion. Carleton was captain of the ski team, competing for three years, and was an intercollegiate ski jump champion in 1919 and 1921. He was also on the varsity football team for three years. In 1922 Carleton won the Beck trophy at Lake Placid, and set two New England ski jumping records in New Hampshire and the Vermont state championship. As a member (and 1925 captain) of the Oxford ski team, in 1923 he took part in two Oxbridge Ski Races held in Switzerland. He competed for the U.S. in cross-country skiing and Nordic combined at the

. In April 11, 1931 along with

Charles Proctor Charles Nancrede Proctor (January 4, 1906 – February 1, 1996) was an American skier. He competed at the 1928 Winter Olympics. Proctor attended Dartmouth College and was the son of a Dartmouth professor. He was captain of the 1927 Dartmout ...

, Carleton made the first ski descent of the headwall at

Tuckerman Ravine Tuckerman Ravine is a glacial cirque sloping eastward on the southeast face of Mount Washington (New Hampshire), Mt. Washington, in the White Mountains (New Hampshire), White Mountains of New Hampshire. Although it draws hiking, hikers througho ...

. In 1932 he competed in the first Eastern Amateur Ski Association downhill race held on

Mount Moosilauke Mount Moosilauke is a mountain at the southwestern end of the White Mountains in the town of Benton, New Hampshire, United States. It is the tenth highest and most southwesterly of the 4,000 foot summits in the White Mountains. Moosilauke ...

. As Chairman of the New Hampshire Ski Trails Committee of the State Development Commission in 1933, he oversaw the planning of 40 miles of new ski trails cut by the

CCC CCC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * CCC, the production code for the 1970 ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Ambassadors of Death'' * Color Climax Corporation, a Danish pornography producer * Comics Campaign Council, a British pressure grou ...

reaching across the state of New Hampshire from the Vermont line to the Maine line.

Military service

*World War I U.S. Army Sergeant *World War II U.S. Army Air Corps Captain, promoted to Major

Profession

Carleton was partner in the Manchester, New Hampshire law firm of McLane, Carleton, Graf, Green & Brown and an Assistant

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

for New Hampshire from 1939–45. He also worked as campaign manager for the

Sherman Adams Llewelyn Sherman Adams (January 8, 1899 – October 27, 1986) was an American businessman and politician, best known as White House Chief of Staff for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the culmination of an 18-year political career that also inclu ...

campaign for governor in 1946."Gubernatorial recount"
''Waterbury Democrat'' pg 5 and was an alternate delegate to the

1948 Republican National Convention The 1948 Republican National Convention was held at the Municipal Auditorium, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from June 21 to 25, 1948. New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey had paved the way to win the Republican presidential nomination in the ...

from New Hampshire.

Family

He married Alice Prescott Skinner on July 1, 1931 in Paris, France.

Honors

*Rhodes scholar 1922 *WWII

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

*National Ski Hall of Fame 1968

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carleton, John 1899 births 1977 deaths American male ski jumpers American male Nordic combined skiers American male cross-country skiers American male alpine skiers Olympic Nordic combined skiers for the United States Olympic cross-country skiers for the United States Nordic combined skiers at the 1924 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1924 Winter Olympics 20th-century American sportsmen