In the spring and summer of 1775, tensions between New Hampshire colonists and royal Governor John Wentworth escalated to the point that Governor Wentworth fled the colony out of fear for his own and his family’s safety. In response, New Hampshire patriots elected a provincial congress to serve as a provisional government. That body, however, had no official authority until the Continental Congress in Philadelphia granted New Hampshire permission to form a government. Thus, on January 5, 1776, New Hampshire became the first colony to adopt a constitution of its own. The lecture will explain how the 1776 Constitution was drafted, the significance of that document, and its relationship to New Hampshire’s permanent constitution adopted in 1784.
Hon. N. William Delker is Associate Justice for the New Hampshire Superior Court, to which he was appointed August 2011. Judge Delker was the Supervisory Judge for Rockingham County Superior Court from July 2014 until December 2019 when he transferred to the Hillsborough Superior Court-North in Manchester to fill a vacancy there. In April 2022, he was appointed as the Supervisory Judge of that court. Judge Delker is an active member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Rules, the Judicial Conduct Committee, the N.H. Lawyer’s Assistance Program Board of Trustees, the N.H. Bar Association Leadership Academy, and Chairman of the Superior Court Law Clerk Committee. He has been actively involved in civics education with area schools and teaches Remedies and State Constitutional Law as an adjunct professor at the UNH Franklin Pierce Law School. Prior to joining the bench, Judge Delker was a Senior Assistant Attorney General in the NH Attorney General’s Office, where he worked as a prosecutor for 13 years. He founded the NH Cold Case Unit, prosecuted white collar and public integrity crimes, and worked in the appellate unit. He earned his J.D. summa cum laude from American University’s Washington College of Law and his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
For the 2026 Lecture Series “The Spirit of 1776: Revolution, Constitution, Independence,” each program begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Shaw Research Library (unless otherwise noted). Reservations for each program are required as seating is limited. If unable to keep a reservation, please call again to release the seat for someone else. Attendance at programs is free for Athenæum Proprietors, Subscribers and Friends. Guests and members of the public are welcome to attend the entire series by becoming a Friend of the Athenæum for as little as $25 per year, payable at the door. Admission to an individual program is $15.
Registration Information Online registration is available until 24 hours before the event. To reserve any remaining spots after that time, please call us at (603) 431-2538.
You will receive a confirmation email upon completing your registration. If you do not receive one, or if you have any questions, please contact events@portsmouthathenaeum.org.
Members: FREE
Proprietors, Subscribers, and Friends may attend this event for free. Membership at the Proprietor and Subscriber levels includes one complimentary spouse/partner guest pass.
Non-Members: $15
Admission to a single event.
Friend Membership: $25
This annual membership includes free admission for one person to the yearly lecture series.
The 2026 lecture series is sponsored by Whole Wealth Management.
