The founder of the Christian Science church called New Hampshire home. So does the founder of the rock band Aerosmith. New Hampshire was home to the first astronaut and the first ordinary citizen in space; the creator of Archie comics and the creator of McDonald's; a notorious murderer and a US Supreme Court justice. Living in New Hampshire in the 20th century meant sharing space with famous poets, painters, and politicians -- not to mention an accused spy and a communist or two.

To commemorate the end of the era, the staff of the Concord Monitor profiled 100 of the state's most interesting characters. Not all prominent personalities, those chosen participated in a wide array of key events and issues. Among them are people working hard to preserve the past (a stone wall builder and a creator of covered bridges) and people looking steadily forward (a computer guru and a school reformer). Their stories include environmental activism, a near-hanging, the long struggle for women's rights, even an alien abduction. Combined they tell the tale of a small state that enjoyed a spot on the national stage far out of proportion to its size.