John Sheehan, a Georgetown Law School graduate and former sports reporter for the Manchester Union Leader, was admitted to the New Hampshire Bar in 1923. He developed a considerable reputation as a trial lawyer, and was also active in Democratic politics, first as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, then as a State Senator. He subsequently served as Hillsborough County Solicitor for two terms and finally as a candidate for the United States Congress in 1936, a highly-disputed election in which Sheehan narrowly missed winning the Democratic nomination and a likely seat in Congress. With World War II on the horizon, Sheehan, at the age of forty-three, volunteered for service in the Army Air Corps in 1942. Following a distinguished career in the service, Sheehan returned to Manchester and the active practice of law in 1946. Sheehan was appointed by President Harry S. Truman the United States District Attorney for New Hampshire, serving from 1949 to 1953. This position was then part-time and Sheehan continued in active private practice at the same time. |