James Harper

James Harper, born on 13 April 1795 and died on 27 March 1869, was an American publisher and politician. With his brother John he formed the New York publishing firm J. & J. Harper in 1817, and in 1825 he brought his younger brothers into the business and renamed it Harper & Brothers. The firm's first big success was Maria Monk's Awful Disclosures in 1836. Eight years later Harper was elected the 66th mayor of New York City on the American Republican ticket, serving a single one year term, during which he banished free-roaming pigs from the streets and began work on a citywide sanitation system. He was a trustee of Vassar College until his death. Harper & Brothers later merged with Row, Peterson to form Harper & Row, which became part of HarperCollins after News Corporation bought it.