Townsend Harris

Townsend Harris in 1855, portrait by James Bogle

Townsend Harris (born October 3, 1804 in Sandy Hill , † February 25, 1878 in New York City ) was a successful New York businessman and politician. As the first consul of the United States in Japan, he negotiated the Harris Treaty between the two states, which was named after him .

Life

Townsend Harris was born on October 3, 1804 in Sandy Hill (now Hudson Falls ), New York, to a hatter. After completing the local primary school, he went to New York in 1817, where he began to work as an employee in his brother's shop, which imported porcelain and silk from China, among other things. The business developed successfully, and Harris came to considerable wealth, also because he participated early in the real estate trade in New York, which experienced a significant boom since 1811.

In addition to his work, Harris continued to educate himself, read a lot and learned several foreign languages, including French, Spanish and Italian. His interest in education and his increased influence as a successful businessman finally led to his election to the New York Supreme School Board in 1840, which he took over in 1846.

One of his most important acts was the establishment of the Free Academy of the City of New York , a free educational establishment for workers, from which the City College of New York later emerged. Despite resistance from the city administration, he pushed through the establishment of the academy with the help of a referendum. After his mother's death in 1847, he retired from politics and moved to California. There he bought a ship and began trading with China, the Dutch East Indies and the British East Indies.

In 1853, Harris sought the post of consul in Hong Kong or Canton , but was instead appointed to Ningpo (now Ningbo ), a coastal city in eastern China. Dissatisfied with this decision, he asked his old friend, Secretary of State William Marcy , to give him the post of consul in Japan. In 1855 Harris was named consul by President Franklin Pierce and in August 1856 he arrived in Shimoda with the task of negotiating a trade agreement between the United States and Japan .

Harris stayed in Japan until 1861 and then retired in New York, where he died on February 25, 1878.

In popular culture

In the film The Barbarian and the Geisha ( The Barbarian and the Geisha , 1958) by John Huston was in the lead by Harris John Wayne embodies.

credentials

1. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated December 4, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ http://www.answers.com/topic/harris-townsend
3. ^ John Huston: The Barbarian and the Geisha. September 30, 1958. Retrieved May 10, 2018 .