John H. Harmon

John Hanchett Harmon (June 21, 1819 – August 6, 1888) was an American politician who was a member of the Democratic National Committee, the mayor of Detroit, and the publisher of the Detroit Free Press.

Early life John H. Harmon was born in Portage County, Ohio, on June 21, 1819. His father, John Harmon, was a printer and published a newspaper in Ravenna, Ohio. The younger Harmon joined his father and learned the printer's trade. In 1838, the younger Harmon travelled to Detroit as the aide-de-camp of "General" Lucius V. Bierce, a leader of the Hunter Patriots, a group dedicated to ridding North America of the British Empire. In December 1838, Harmon took part in the Battle of Windsor, personally burning the British barracks and the steamer Thames. Harmon sold the Free Press the next year. He was also a member of the state militia, being appointed a Colonel in 1850. Following his stint as mayor, he was appointed by President Franklin Pierce as Collector for the Port of Detroit, where he served until 1857.

During this time Harmon, as one biographer put it, "became a victim to the bad habits created by the customs of hospitality then existing in Detroit." However, he later "conquered [his] habit" and became a total abstainer,