Carter Henry Harrison, Sr.

24th Mayor of Chicago

Party

• Democrat

Elected

• First term:
  • April 1, 1879
    • Defeated Ernst Schmidt (Socialist Labor) and Abner M. Wright (Republican)
• Second term:
  • April 5, 1881
    • Defeated John M. Clark (Republican), Timothy O’Meara (Independent) and George Schilling (Socialist Labor)
• Third term:
  • April 3, 1883
    • Defeated Eugene Cary (Republican)
• Fourth term:
  • April 7, 1885
    • Defeated William Bush (Prohibition) and Sidney Smith (Republican)
• Fifth term:
  • April 4, 1893
    • Defeated Samuel W. Allerton (Republican), Dewitt C. Cregier (Union Citizens) and Henry Ehrenpreis (Socialist Labor)

Inaugurations

• First term: April 28, 1879: Inaugural Address
• Second term: May 9, 1881: Inaugural Address
• Third term: May 14, 1883: Inaugural Address not available
• Fourth term: June 8, 1885: Inaugural Address not available
• Fifth term: April 17, 1893: Inaugural Address

Terms of Office

• First term: 1879–1881
• Second term: 1881–1883
• Third term: 1883–1885
• Fourth term: 1885–1887
• Fifth term: 1893

Birth

• February 15, 1825
• Near Lexington, Ky.

Personal

• Related to both Presidents William Henry Harrison and Thomas Jefferson
• 1845: Graduated from Yale University
• 1855: Married Miss Sophy Preston, who died in Europe in 1876
• 1874: Elected to the first board of County Commissioners
• 1875: Elected Congressman for 2nd District of Illinois, re-elected
• 1882: Married Miss Marguerite E. Stearns, who died shortly after
• Had 10 children, but survived six of them
• At the time of his death, he was engaged to marry 25-year-old Miss Howard, a New Orleans heiress worth $3 million
• 1893: Assassinated by Patrick Eugene Prendergast the night before the close of the World’s Columbian Exhibition

Death

• October 28, 1893
• Chicago

Gravesite

• Graceland Cemetery, Chicago

Sources

• Andreas, A.T. History of Chicago: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. A.T. Andreas, 1884–86.
• Chicago Daily Tribune, October 29, 1893, p. 1.
• Chicago Daily Tribune, October 29, 1893, p. 3.
• Dodge, Andrew R. and Betty K. Koed, editors. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005: The Continental Congress, September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States, from the First through the One Hundred Eighth Congresses, March 4, 1789, to January 3, 2005, Inclusive. U.S. G.P.O., 2005.
• Grossman, James R., Ann Durkin Keating and Janice L. Reiff, editors. Encyclopedia of Chicago. University of Chicago Press, 2004.