Remembering the final signer of the Declaration of Independence
NASHUA, N.H. — John Hancock will forever be known as the first of 56 delegates to sign the Declaration of Independence, but Dr. Matthew Thornton of Londonderry, N.H., has the distinction of being the last delegate to leave his mark on one of America’s greatest documents. Born in Northern Ireland in 1714, Thornton and his family immigrated to the U.S. when he was 3 years old and settled in what is now Wiscasset, Maine. However, they were compelled to leave in the summer of 1722 when the settlement was attacked by Abenaki Indians. Following the attack, Thornton and his family ...
Remembering Declaration’s Final Signer: As colonies revolted from Britain, Frederick played an active role in Revolutionary War
Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of 12 weekly stories focusing on America’s 250th birthday, as told through the lens of our communities and the role many of the places we call home played in shaping the nation before, during and after the Revolutionary War. This week we stop in Frederick, Md., in the 1770s, just as the colonists were preparing to revolt against the monarchy. Frederick was home to the first formal protest against the Stamp Act — a tax levied on colonists for the use of official stamped paper — and, during the war, served as a vital source of supplies ...
A crisis of conscience spurred this Christian IVF doctor’s career pivot
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Dr. John Gordon, a reproductive endocrinologist, has been a man of faith for years. When he began to have doubts, they were not about his God, but his life's work. He chose to be an infertility specialist to help people. Thirty years later, scientific advancements made that easier than ever but created more ethical dilemmas. As co-director of a fertility clinic in suburban Washington, D.C., Gordon grew troubled over helping create surplus embryos, which would often languish in storage or be discarded. With the expansion of genetic testing, couples could ...
911 call details Busch’s Wednesday struggles
CONCORD, N.C. — NASCAR driver Kyle Busch experienced shortness of breath, felt he was overheating and was coughing up blood the day before his death, according to a 911 call obtained Friday by The Associated Press. Busch died Thursday at age 41. No cause of death has been given, though his ...