Carter Harrison, Sr.

Carter Harrison

Carter Henry Harrison Sr. (born February 15, 1825 in Lexington , Kentucky , †  October 28, 1893 in Chicago , Illinois ) was an American politician . Between 1875 and 1879 he represented the state of Illinois in the US House of Representatives ; he was also mayor of Chicago twice .

Career

Carter Harrison was a second cousin of President William Henry Harrison and a member of the politically important Harrison family . He enjoyed a private education and then studied until 1845 at Yale College . From 1851 to 1853 he toured Europe. After studying law at Transylvania College in his native Lexington and being admitted to the bar in 1855, he began practicing this profession in Chicago. He also worked in the real estate industry. At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party . In 1872 he ran unsuccessfully for Congress . Between 1874 and 1876 he was a member of the Cook County county council .

In the congressional election of 1874 Harrison was then elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , in the second constituency of Illinois , where he succeeded Jasper D. Ward on March 4, 1875 . After re-election, he was able to complete two legislative terms in Congress until March 3, 1879. In 1878 he renounced another candidacy. Harrison was Mayor of Chicago for the first time between 1879 and 1887, succeeding Monroe Heath . In 1884, he unsuccessfully applied for governor of Illinois.

In 1880 and 1884 Harrison took part as a delegate to the respective Democratic National Conventions . Between 1891 and 1893 he was the newspaper "Chicago Times" out. In 1893 he succeeded Hempstead Washburne again as mayor of Chicago. During this time the World's Columbian Exposition took place . On October 28, 1893, two days before this World's Fair ended , Carter Harrison was murdered by a man named Patrick Eugene Prendergast. Because of this attack, the closing ceremony of the world exhibition was canceled. The assassin was hanged on July 13, 1894. Harrison's son Carter Jr. later also became mayor of Chicago.

Web links

Commons : Carter Harrison, Sr.  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• Carter Harrison in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Carter Harrison, Sr. in the database of Find a Grave (English)