Portsmouth marks the 115th anniversary Saturday of its hosting of peace talks that ended the Russo-Japanese War.
The 1905 armistice earned President Theodore Roosevelt a Nobel Peace Prize for ending the conflict between the Russian and Japanese Empires.
The delegations involved in the peace talks stayed at the Hotel Wentworth in New Castle, and met for about a month at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard before reaching an agreement.
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Washington, D.C.’s iconic cherry trees were a gift from Japan as a result of the treaty, and the Japan-America Society of New Hampshire has planted more around Portsmouth in recent years.
The Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum, run by the state’s Japan-America and Russia Societies, says on its website that “the Treaty is considered one of the most powerful symbols of peace in the Northern Pacific region and the most significant, shared peace history for Japan, Russia, and the United States.”
Officials will mark the anniversary of the agreement on Saturday starting around 3:30 p.m. with the ringing of church bells, a memorial salute at the shipyard, and proclamations in Market Square.
One will be on behalf of Congresswoman Annie Kuster, whose great grandfather John McClane was governor of New Hampshire during the armistice.
The Peace Treaty Forum will also host a virtual talk on the role of presidents in foreign policy on Sept. 13.