Background
Townsend was born on October 3, 1804 in Sands Hill, New York, United States. He was the son of Jonathan Harris.
1861
Letter of Abraham Lincoln to "Taikun" Tokugawa Iemochi announcing the departure of Townsend Harris.
Townsend Harris had the US Legation relocate at the Zenpuku-ji Temple from 1859, following the Treaty of Amity and Commerce.
Townsend Harris in later life
Townsend Harris monument in Zenpuku-ji.
Townsend was born on October 3, 1804 in Sands Hill, New York, United States. He was the son of Jonathan Harris.
Townsend educated at the local primary school. Harris read and studied widely and became proficient in French, Spanish, and Italian. In 1817 he began work at a dry goods store and later joined his father and brother in importing china and earthenware.
In 1846 Harris joined the New York City Board of Education, serving as its president until 1848. 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. A city high school bearing Harris's name, Townsend Harris High School, soon emerged as a separate entity out of the Free Academy's secondary-level curriculum; the school survived until 1942 when Fiorello La Guardia closed it because of budget constraints. Townsend Harris High School was re-created in 1984 as a public magnet school for the humanities.
After his mother died in 1847, Harris left for California and during the following six years made trading voyages to China and the Dutch and British Indies, becoming thoroughly acquainted with many Asian customs and societies. He acted for a time as American vice-consul at the Chinese treaty port of Ningpo (modern Ningbo).
President Franklin Pierce named Harris the first Consul General to Tokugawa Japan in July, 1856, where he opened the first US Consulate at the Gyokusen-ji Temple in the city of Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture, some time after Commodore Perry had first opened trade between the US and Japan in 1854.
Harris demanded the courtesies due to an accredited envoy, and refused to deliver his president's letter to any one but the Shogun in Edo, and to him personally. After prolonged negotiations lasting 18 months, Harris finally received a personal audience of the Shogun in the palace. After another four months, he successfully negotiated the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, or the "Harris Treaty of 1858," securing trade between the US and Japan and paving the way for greater Western influence in Japan's economy and politics.
Harris served during the first Japanese Embassy to the United States, during which a false report reached the US of his death. Harris returned home in 1861. He retired to New York City and continued his involvement in the temperance movement and church, civic, and foreign affairs.
After President Lincoln's election, Harris resigned, moved to New York, and became a War Democrat.
Townsend Harris was an avid and critical reader.