In honor of President's Day, the Boston Globe takes note of the school's namesake's memorably unkempt hair:

The New Hampshire Historical Society says a letter written by Franklin Pierce's wife suggests that his somewhat unkempt-looking hair was that way on purpose.

The evidence, posted on the society's Web site, is a December 1857 letter in which wife Jane described the then ex-president resting on a sofa while her maid brushed his hair.

Peter Wallner, director of the society's library, has written a two-volume biography of the only New Hampshire native to become president. Wallner says portraits and photographs of Pierce, who was president from 1853-57, show a shock of unruly hair flowing over his forehead. "Written descriptions of Pierce by contemporaries frequently mention his elegant appearance, immaculate dress, and courtly manners," Wallner says. "Why, then, didn't he comb his hair?"

The letter, recently purchased by the society, isn't conclusive, Wallner acknowledges. But he says it "leads one to suspect that the vanity Pierce showed for his appearance extended to his hair as well."