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Townsend Harris

Townsend Harris, American merchant, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Japan (died 1878)

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Born
October 3, 1804
Died
February 25, 1878
Zodiac sign
Libra
Birth year
1804

About Townsend Harris

Townsend Harris was an American merchant and politician who served as the first United States Consul General to Japan. He negotiated the Harris Treaty between the US and Japan and is credited as the diplomat who first opened Shogunate Japan to foreign trade and culture in the Edo period. Townsend Harris (October 4, 1804 – February 25, 1878) was an American merchant and politician who served as the first United States Consul General to Japan. Townsend Harris High School was re-created in 1984 as a public magnet school for the humanities. He founded the Free Academy of the City of New York, which later became the City College of New York, to provide education to the city's working people.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Townsend Harris timeline

  1. Townsend Harris (October 4, 1804 – February 25, 1878) was an American merchant and politician who served as the first United States Consul General to Japan.
  2. Townsend Harris High School was re-created in 1984 as a public magnet school for the humanities.

The world when Townsend Harris was born

Townsend Harris was born in 1804. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Headlines and milestones

  • Top headlineLewis and Clark expedition begins
  • Technology milestoneMorphine isolated for the first time
  • World population~920M

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderThomas Jefferson
  • U.S. population6.1M

1804 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Townsend Harris's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure18042026
Population6.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.