Josiah Failing

Josiah Failing (July 9, 1806 – August 14, 1877) was a businessman and the fourth mayor of Portland, Oregon, United States. Born in New York, he moved to Portland when it was still a small town of a few hundred. He and his son Henry, who also became a noted businessman and mayor of the city, started a general merchandising business that became very successful.

Early life Josiah Failing was born in Canajoharie, New York, on July 9, 1806. His ancestors were German Palatines who settled in the Mohawk Valley of New York in the early part of the 18th century. He was raised on a farm. There he married Henrietta Ellison on June 15, 1828. They located the store diagonally across the street from the business of Henry W. Corbett, a future U.S. Senator with whom the Failing business would later partner. He was particularly concerned with education, was a member of the Portland Public Schools board from 1856-1862 and 1864-1868, and devoted much of his time to their establishment and management. Failing School was named in his honor which still stands and is currently the National University of Natural Medicine. Failing Street in Northeast Portland carries his family's name.