Judson Harmon | |
|---|---|
 Harmon,c. 1912 | |
| 45thGovernor of Ohio | |
| In office January 11, 1909 – January 13, 1913 | |
| Lieutenant | Francis W. Treadway Atlee Pomerene Hugh L. Nichols |
| Preceded by | Andrew L. Harris |
| Succeeded by | James M. Cox |
| 41stUnited States Attorney General | |
| In office June 11, 1895 – March 4, 1897 | |
| President | Grover Cleveland |
| Preceded by | Richard Olney |
| Succeeded by | Joseph McKenna |
| Judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati | |
| In office 1878–1887 | |
| Judge of the Common Pleas Court | |
| In office 1876 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1846-02-03)February 3, 1846 Newtown, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | February 22, 1927(1927-02-22) (aged 81) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Denison University(BA) University of Cincinnati(LLB) |
| Signature |  |
Judson Harmon (February 3, 1846 – February 22, 1927) was an AmericanDemocratic politician fromOhio. He served asUnited States Attorney General under PresidentGrover Cleveland and later served as the 45thgovernor of Ohio.
Harmon was born inNewtown, Ohio, and named afterAdoniram Judson, the famed AmericanBaptist foreignmissionary. His parents were Benjamin Franklin Harmon and Julia Brunson, a native ofOlean, New York. His ancestors on both sides of his family were English and included men who served in the colonial wars and theAmerican Revolutionary War,[1] including Cornelius Brooks and his father James Brooks.[2]
Judson was a distant relative ofFrances Folsom, the wife of PresidentGrover Cleveland, through her mother Emma Harmon.
Harmon graduated fromDenison University in 1866. He graduated from theCincinnati Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1869. Harmon was elected judge of the Common Pleas Court in 1876 but left months later to run unsuccessfully for the State Senate. He was elected judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati in 1878[3] and served until he resigned in 1887 to resume the practice of law.
He was appointed Attorney General by President Cleveland on June 8, 1895, upon the elevation ofRichard Olney to becomeUnited States Secretary of State. Harmon served out the remainder of Cleveland's second term in office. Shortly after his appointment, Harmon urged Congress to fix some of the weaknesses in theSherman Antitrust Act.[4] Harmon also issued the most explicit statement of what became known as theHarmon doctrine of absolute sovereignty, "the rules, principles and precedents ofinternational law impose no liability or obligation upon the United States" in a case involving a claim by Mexico for damages from diverting the waters of theRio Grande.
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Harmon was elected as Ohio governor in 1908.[5] In 1910, Harmon was re-elected for a second term as governor, this time defeating futurePresident of the United StatesWarren G. Harding. During his time as governor, various progressive labor laws were introduced.[6][7][8][9][10]
In June 1912, Harmon led the Ohio delegation to the Democratic National Convention inBaltimore, Maryland. There, Harmon was nominated as a candidate for the presidency.[11] That was largely as afavorite son of the State of Ohio, Harmon found support from elsewhere and on the first ballot of the Convention, and he received the votes of 148 delegates.[12] However, since no candidate received the necessary two thirds of the votes, balloting continued.
By the time of the 26th ballot, no candidate had yet received the nomination for president and Harmon's support had dwindled to 29 votes,[13] as the Convention tended to coalesce around the two leading candidates:Speaker of the House of RepresentativesChamp Clark ofMissouri andNew Jersey GovernorWoodrow Wilson.[14] Balloting continued until the 39th ballot, when the support ofWilliam Jennings Bryan helped Wilson obtain the votes necessary to become the nominee.[15]
Following the convention, Harmon returned home to Ohio to serve the rest of his term as governor. Accordingly, Harmon left office in January 1913 upon completing this second term. He died in late February 1927 at 81.
In 1870 Judson married Olivia Scobey, the daughter of a leading physician inHamilton. They had three daughters.[16] Harmon and family were residents ofWyoming, OH and lived at 205 Worthington Avenue, located in the city'sVillage Historic District. He served as Wyoming's third Mayor and was the village's most distinguished public servant.[17]
Harmon County, Oklahoma, is named after him.
"Harmon, Judson" .Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900.
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