Matthew Thornton

New Hampshire declared independence from Britain in January 1776, six months before the Continental Congress did. For those six months, NH was essentially its own nation, and Matthew Thornton was its President.

Thornton later signed the Declaration, and worked so hard in the Revolutionary cause that he one time went ten days without changing clothes. John Adams described him as a physician who had a great sense of humor, and who loved to tell lots of stories.

Thornton was an all-out Christian who lived to be 89. His tombstone bears this inscription: "An honest man."

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