Carter Harrison Sr. had already been elected mayor 4 times, steering the city through some of its most tumultuous labor battles of the 1880s, including the Haymarket Affair, where he famously walked through the morass of rioters without so much as wrinkling his suit. After his first go-around as mayor, Harrison devoted himself to other pursuits(including running the Chicago Tribune), until Chicago was gearing up to host the Columbian Exposition.
At this point, Harrison felt the need to run again in order to help steer the preparations, and so he ran once again in the 1893 election and won. One of the many Chicagoans who campaigned for Harrison was a newspaper distributor by the name of Patrick Pendergast. Pendergast was also very concerned about the danger that railroad grade crossings posed to the public(14 years later, it would seem that others saw the same danger). While he was campaigning, Pendergast got the crazy idea that if Harrison won he would appoint Pendergast to the Corporation Counsel. Long story short, it didn't happen.
Once Harrison took office, he busied himself with final preparations for the fair, one of which involved leaving the operation of the red-light district under the control of two crooked aldermen. The fair opened up on May 1, 1893 to rave reviews. Over the next six months, the fair welcomed millions of guests from around the world, and introduced us to such things as the Ferris wheel, ice cream cones, and even the Vienna Beef hot dog. And if folks tired of the official activities, they could always schlep over to Buffalo Bill just outside of the fairgrounds. And if they were really unlucky, they ran into H.H. Holmes. At the end of October, the fair was entering its final weeks, and the attitude was one of happiness and fulfillment. That is, except for Patrick Pendergast, who had spent the whole year stewing over his presumed snub at the hands of Harrison. Finally, Pendergast decided to act. On October 28, Pendergast slipped into Harrison's house, and when Harrison awoke to investigate the commotion, Pendergast fatally shot him.
The city was instantly plunged into a state of mourning, and all celebrations associated with the end of the fair were cancelled. Pendergast turned himself in to the authorities later on that same day. He was initially attempting to plead insanity, but that did not work. He was then convicted and sentenced to die. During the appeals process, he was awarded a temporary victory thanks to the efforts of Clarence Darrow, but ultimately was still executed on July 14, 1894(31 years later, Darrow would have better luck defending monkeys than murderers). Carter Harrison was the first mayor to be assassinated(though not the last), as well as the first to die in office(again, not the last either)
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