Francis Burton Harrison (December 18, 1873 – November 21, 1957) was an American-Filipino

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

who served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

and was appointed

governor-general of the Philippines The governor-general of the Philippines (; ; ) was the title of the Executive (government), government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, first by History of the Philippines (1521–1898), the Spanish in Mexico City and l ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

. Harrison was a prominent adviser to the president of the

Philippine Commonwealth The Commonwealth of the Philippines (; ) was an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States that existed from 1935 to 1946. It was established following the Tydings–McDuffie Act to replace the Insular Government of the Phi ...

, as well as the next four

presidents President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *''Præsidenten ...

of the

Republic of the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...

. He is the only former governor-general of the Philippines to be awarded Philippine citizenship.

Early life and military career

Harrison was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, to Burton Harrison, a lawyer and private secretary to Confederate President

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

, and Constance Cary Harrison, novelist and social arbiter. Through his mother, Harrison was great-grandson of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

-planter, Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron. Through Fairfax in birth and marriage, Harrison was also relative to United States founding fathers:

Gouverneur Morris Gouverneur Morris ( ; January 31, 1752 – November 6, 1816) was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to the ...

(his great-great-uncle),

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

, the Randolphs, the Ishams,

Robert Carter I Robert Carter I ( – 4 August 1732) was an American planter, merchant, and colonial administrator who served as the acting governor of Virginia from 1726 to 1727. An agent for the Northern Neck Proprietary, Carter emerged as the wealthiest sett ...

, and

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

General

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

. Harrison graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1895, where he was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity and the secret society

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones (also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death) is an undergraduate senior Secret society#Colleges and universities, secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior-class ...

, and from the

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private, American law school in the Tribeca neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The third oldest law school in New York City, its history predates its official founding in 1891 by Theodore William Dwight, T ...

in 1897. From 1897 to 1899, Harrison was an instructor in the Evening Division at New York Law School. He later left to serve in

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, as an assistant adjutant general with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

U.S. Congress

A member of the Democratic Party, Harrison was elected to the 58th United States Congress, and served from March 4, 1903, to March 3, 1905. In

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

, Harrison ran unsuccessfully for

lieutenant governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a Constitution of New York, constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governo ...

. Afterwards, he resumed the practice of law. He was again elected to the 60th, 61st, 62nd and

63rd United States Congress The 63rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1913, t ...

es, and served from March 4, 1907, to September 3, 1913, when he resigned to become governor-general of the Philippines. His

Harrison Narcotics Tax Act The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act (Ch. 1, ) was a United States federal law that regulated and taxed the production, importation, and distribution of opiates and coca products. The act was proposed by Representative Francis Burton Harrison of Ne ...

was eventually passed on December 17, 1914. During his service in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

, Harrison was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 1920 presidential election. He lost the nomination to

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

James M. Cox at the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, who eventually lost to the Republican candidate

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...

Governor-general

Harrison was governor-general of the Philippines from 1913 to 1921 and advocated for and oversaw the process of Filipinization, or the transfer of authority to Filipinos in the

United States territory In the United States, a territory is any extent of region under the sovereign jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States, including all waters (around islands or continental tracts). The United States asserts sovereign rights for ...

Insular Government The Philippine Insular GovernmentThis form of the name appeared in the titles of US Supreme Court cases, but was otherwise rarely used. See Costas v. Government of the Philippine Islands, 221 U.S. 623, 1911. The Administrative Code of the Phil ...

to better prepare for independence. He was governor-general during the passages of the Philippine Autonomy Act, otherwise known as the Jones Act, which converted the partially elected

Philippine Legislature The Philippine Legislature was the legislature of the Philippines from 1907 to 1935, during the American colonial period, and predecessor of the current Congress of the Philippines. It was bicameral and the legislative branch of the Insular ...

with the appointed

Philippine Commission The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the president of the United States, to assist with governing the Philippines. The First Philippine Commission, also known as the Schurman Commission, was appointed by Pre ...

as the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

and the elected

Philippine Assembly The Philippine Assembly (sometimes called the Philippine National Assembly) was the lower house of the Philippine Legislature from 1907 to 1916, when it was renamed the House of Representatives of the Philippines. The Philippine Assembly ...

as the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

, to a fully elected Philippine Legislature with the

Philippine Senate The Senate of the Philippines () is the upper house of Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the House of Representatives as the lower house. The Senate is composed of 24 senators who are elected at-large (the country f ...

replacing the now-dissolved Philippine Commission and the Philippine Assembly renamed the

House of Representatives of the Philippines The House of Representatives (; '','' thus commonly referred to as ''Kamara'') is the lower house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the Senate of the Philippines as the upper house. The ...

. Despite the length of his tenure as governor-general, he vetoed only five bills, the least number by any American governor-general in the Philippines. His pro-Filipino stance made him a popular figure in the Philippines but also the object of criticism of conservative Americans who viewed his liberal governance as not supportive enough of U.S. interests. Under his administration, the governor-general's Spanish-era mansion called

Malacañang Palace Malacañang Palace (, ), officially known as Malacañán Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila district of San Miguel, Manila, San Miguel, along Jose Laurel S ...

was expanded with the construction of an executive building. When he left the Philippines, Harrison lived in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

until being recalled to the Philippines in 1934, during a period of transition from an unincorporated territory of the United States to the

Commonwealth of the Philippines The Commonwealth of the Philippines (; ) was an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territory and Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States that existed from 1935 to 1946. It was established following the ...

Political adviser

Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina (, , , ; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier, and politician who was president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1 ...

became the first president of the Commonwealth, and Harrison was asked to be Quezon's principal advisor in November 1935. He served in that capacity for ten months. In 1936, Harrison expressed interest in acquiring Filipino citizenship but did not fulfill the required years of residency under the Naturalization Law. Upon Quezon's initiative, the National Assembly passed Commonwealth Act No. 79, making him a naturalized Filipino citizen. Harrison returned to the position of advisor upon Quezon's request in May 1942, after Filipino and American troops had surrendered the

Bataan Peninsula Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of Bataan, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga, Bataan, Balanga while Mariveles, ...

and Corregidor Island during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and Quezon went into exile in the United States. Harrison would serve the government-in-exile. From November 1946 to February 1947, Harrison served as commissioner of claims in the civil service of the

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. He later served as an advisor to the first four presidents of the new Philippine Republic after the country's independence in 1946, serving as special adviser of foreign affairs to

Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines from 1946 until his death in 1948. He served briefly as the third and last President of the ...

. After this latest service to the Philippines, Harrison retired to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

for six years, then chose to move to Califon,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

in August 1957. FB Harrison Tomb

Personal life

Harrison's first wife was Mary Crocker, daughter of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

and

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

magnate Charles Frederick Crocker. They were married on June 7, 1900, at St. Mary's Church in Tuxedo Park, New York. She died in 1905 in an automobile accident leaving Harrison to raise two small daughters, the elder Virginia Randolph Harrison and the younger Barbara Harrison Wescott. Harrison would marry and divorce four more times to: Mabel Judson Cox, Elizabeth Wrentmore (divorced by Wrentmore in 1927 due to abandonment), Margaret Wrentmore whom he had a son, Norvell Burton Harrison who died in an automobile accident in Tucson, AZ on April 19, 1941 at the age of 13, and Doria Lee. His only surviving son, Dr. Francis Burton "Kiko" Harrison, Jr., (1921–2014), was the subject of many photographs taken between 1939 and 1942 by the PaJaMa Collective and George Platt Lynes. Kiko was a product of his third marriage. His last wife, Maria Teresa Larrucea, a young

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

woman, was born in Amorebieta (

Bizkaia Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. Biscay is one of the most renowned and prosperou ...

) and outlived Harrison.

Death

Harrison died on November 21, 1957, at Hunterdon Medical Center in Raritan Township near

Flemington, New Jersey Flemington is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in and the county seat of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Manila North Cemetery in Manila.

Legacy

Francis Burton Harrison historical marker - NHCP

F.B. Harrison Street in the

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

cities of

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...

, and

Parañaque Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque (, ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...

was named after him. Harrison Road in

Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

, a major thoroughfare beginning in the city center between Burnham Park and near the Baguio Convention Center, is also named for Harrison.

Published works

* ''The Corner-Stone of Philippine Independence'' (1922) * ''Indo-China, A Sportsman's Opportunity'' (1933, with Archibald Cary Harrison) * ''Origins of the Philippine Republic: Extracts from the Diaries and Records of Francis Burton Harrison'' (1974, posthumous)

References

External links

An Act Declaring the Honorable Francis Burton Harrison, Former Governor-General of the Philippines, a Citizen of the Philippines, and Conferring Upon Him all the Rights, Duties, Privileges and Prerogatives of Filipino Citizenship
Commonwealth Act No. 79 (October 26, 1936) {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Francis Burton 1873 births 1957 deaths American emigrants to the Philippines American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Burials at the Manila North Cemetery Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Governors-general of the Philippine Islands Naturalized citizens of the Philippines New York Law School alumni People from Califon, New Jersey Secretaries of the interior and local government of the Philippines United States Army officers Yale University alumni Crocker family Military personnel from Hunterdon County, New Jersey Psi Upsilon Members of Skull and Bones 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives