By Kim McGuire
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Kelly Ann Ayotte (/ˈeɪɒt/ AY-ott; born June 27, 1968) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from New Hampshire from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Ayotte served as New Hampshire Attorney General from 2004 to 2009.
Born and raised in Nashua, New Hampshire, Ayotte is a graduate of Nashua High School, Pennsylvania State University and Villanova University School of Law. She worked as a law clerk for the New Hampshire Supreme Court before entering private practice. She served as a prosecutor for the New Hampshire Department of Justice, and briefly served as the legal counsel to New Hampshire Governor Craig Benson, before returning to the Department of Justice to serve as Deputy Attorney General of New Hampshire.
In June 2004, Governor Benson appointed Ayotte as Attorney General of New Hampshire, after the resignation of Peter Heed. She became the first and only woman to serve as New Hampshire’s Attorney General, serving from 2004 to 2009, after she was twice reappointed by Democratic governor John Lynch. In July 2009, Ayotte resigned as Attorney General to pursue a bid for the U.S. Senate, after three-term incumbent Judd Gregg announced his retirement from the Senate.
In September 2010, Ayotte won a close victory over lawyer Ovide M. Lamontagne in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. She then defeated Democratic congressman Paul Hodes in the general election with 60% of the vote and was sworn into the U.S. Senate as a member of the 112th Congress on January 3, 2011. Ayotte was mentioned as a possible running mate for Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.
In 2016, Ayotte was defeated in her bid for reelection by Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan by a very narrow margin of 1,017 votes (0.14%). After President Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to the United States Supreme Court, the administration chose Ayotte to lead the White House team escorting the nominee to meetings and hearings on Capitol Hill. Ayotte was chosen by Senator John McCain to deliver a Bible reading at his memorial service in Washington, D.C., on September 1, 2018.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Friday, July 14, 2023
Commemorates the storming of the Bastille, which started the French Revolution, on July 14th, 1789. Bastille Day is also celebrated by many of France’s former and current colonies.
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Frederick Louis Maytag (manufacturer) –
- Woody Guthrie (folk singer) –
- Gerald Ford (38th U.S. president) –
- Ingmar Bergman (director) –
- Polly Bergen (actress) –
- Jane Lynch (actress) –
- Matthew Fox (actor) –
- Robin Ventura (baseball player) –
- Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden –
- Sean Flynn-Amir (actor) –
Died
- Adlai E. Stevenson Jr. (politician) –
- Joaquin Balaguer (Latin American politician) –
- Nin (cat who served as the Mount Washington Observatory’s mascot for a dozen years) –
Events
- Louis VIII became King of France upon the death of his father–
- The Priestley Riots took place in Birmingham, England–
- The first World’s Fair to be held in the United States opened in New York City–
- Gold discovered in Last Chance Gulch (Helena), Montana–
- First ascent of the Matterhorn was completed by Englishman Edward Whymper–
- Enclosed tape measure that holds its place patented–
- John Smith patented a pure corkboard–
- In Germany, the Nazi party declared themselves the only political party–
- Mariner 4 delivered close-up photos of Mars–
- The International Olympic Committee voted for China to be the host of the 2008 Olympics for the first time–
- Kelly Ayotte became New Hampshire’s first female attorney general–
- In the Seaport district of Boston, Massachusetts, a 75-foot pile of snow from the winter of 2014-2015 completely melted–
- A human chain (a line of people holding hands) rescued a swimmer caught in a rip current in Panama City Beach, Florida–
Weather
- Orogrande, New Mexico, had a high temperature of 116 degrees F–
- 113 degrees F in Sac City, Iowa–
- In Trinidad, Colorado, 100 soldiers were injured by flying debris and collapsed tents as winds gusted out of control during a thunderstorm–
- In the Seaport district of Boston, Massachusetts, a 75-foot pile of snow from the winter of 2014-2015 completely melted–
COURTESY www.almanac.com
