Carter Henry Harrison Sr. (February 15, 1825October 28, 1893) was an American politician who served as mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1879 until 1887; he was subsequently elected to a fifth term in 1893 but was assassinated before completing the term. He previously served two terms in the United States House of Representatives. Harrison was the first cousin twice removed of President William Henry Harrison, whose grandson, Benjamin Harrison, had also been president until just months prior to the assassination. He was also the father of Carter Harrison Jr., who would follow in his father's footsteps, and would serve five terms as the mayor of Chicago himself. Early life, education, and career Born on a plantation on February 15, 1825 near Lexington, Kentucky to Carter Henry Harrison II and Caroline Russell, he was only a few months old when his father died. Harrison's family had a long Southern lineage, dating back to early colonial Virginia. Harrison was educated by private tutors and graduated from Yale College in 1845 as a member of Scroll and Key. Following graduation, he traveled and studied in Europe from 1851 to 1853 before entering Transylvania College in Lexington, where he earned a law degree in 1855. Harrison was admitted to the bar in 1855 and commenced practice in Chicago. In 1855 he and his family came to Chicago because he saw it as a land of opportunity. At the time, he inherited the Kentucky plantation and almost 100 slaves but sold out to be done with slavery. Harrison invested in real estate in Chicago, and became a millionaire. After the Great Chicago Fire, he became involved in politics. One of his first acts in politics was convincing Joseph Medill to run for mayor in 1871. Later, during Harrison's own career in citywide politics, Medill, publisher of the Chicago Tribune, would come to be a political rival of Harrison's. Early political career Harrison ran an unsuccessful campaign in 1872 for election to the 43rd United States Congress. From 1874 through 1876, he served one term as a member of the board of commissioners of Cook County. Congressional career (1875–1879) In 1874, Harrison was elected as a Democrat to the 44th United States Congress, and was subsequently reelected in 1876 to the 45th United States Congress. Scandal occurred in his second term in congress when, as chairman of the Committee on Reform of the Civil Service, Harrison