author
Carter H. (Carter Henry) Harrison
1825–1893
A towering figure in 19th-century Chicago politics, this five-time mayor was known for his easy rapport with working-class voters and his dramatic place in the city's history. His long public career ended suddenly in 1893, just months into a new term.
1 Audiobook
A Summer's Outing, and The Old Man's Story
by Carter H. (Carter Henry) Harrison
About the author
Born near Lexington, Kentucky, in 1825, he studied at Yale and later earned a law degree before building his career in Chicago. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives and on the Cook County Board of Commissioners before becoming one of the city's best-known mayors.
First elected mayor in 1879, he led Chicago for four consecutive terms and returned for a fifth in 1893. Contemporary accounts and later histories describe him as a gifted retail politician with a strong connection to immigrant and working-class communities, helping shape the rough-and-ready style of Chicago politics in the late 1800s.
His life ended violently when he was assassinated in October 1893, during the year of the World's Columbian Exposition. That shocking death fixed his place in Chicago memory, and his family remained prominent in the city's public life for years afterward.