Press & broadcasting / Politics
John H. Harmon
1819–1888 · printer, newspaper publisher, mayor of Detroit
Printer who came to Detroit with the 1838 Patriot raiders, rose to own the Detroit Free Press and served as Democratic mayor in 1852–1853.
- Born
Portage County, Ohio- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 69- Birth name
- John Hanchett Harmon
- Detroit years
- 1838–1888
- Field
- Press & broadcasting, Politics
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
John H. Harmon, a printer's son from Ohio, first arrived in Detroit in 1838 as an aide to 'General' Lucius Bierce of the Hunters' Lodges, a secret movement trying to drive the British out of Canada. In the December 1838 Battle of Windsor he personally set fire to the British barracks and a steamer across the river. He then stayed in Detroit, took a job at the Detroit Free Press, became an editor and part-owner in 1841 and sole owner in 1853 before selling the paper a year later. A prominent Democrat, he was an alderman in 1847, sat on the 1848 Democratic National Committee and was mayor in 1852 and 1853, after which President Franklin Pierce made him collector of the port of Detroit. Generous hospitality eroded his fortune and his health, and he returned to work at the Free Press for a time before becoming a teetotaler. He died in a Detroit hotel in 1888.
Highlights
- Mayor of Detroit, 1852–1853
- Owner and editor of the Detroit Free Press (sole owner 1853)
- Took part in the 1838 Battle of Windsor raid
- Collector of the port of Detroit, 1853–1857