Alfred Harding (August 15, 1852 – May 2, 1923) was the second EpiscopalBishop of Washington. He was elected in 1909 to succeed Henry Yates Satterlee, the first bishop of the diocese (1896–1908). Harding was de facto dean of Washington National Cathedral from 1909 until 1916.
Education
Harding was born on August 15, 1852, in Lisburn, Ireland, the son of Richard Harding. He emigrated in 1867 to the United States, settling in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. He became a naturalized citizen in 1870 and spent several years as a businessman.
Harding married in 1887 Justine Prindle Douglas, who was born on June 16, 1853, in New York City, and died on February 6, 1909,[1][unreliable source?] in Washington, D.C. She was the daughter of Dr. John Hancock Douglas, an 1843 graduate of Williams College and an 1847 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He was the personal physician for President Ulysses S. Grant, attending him from 22 October 1884, till the death of the latter, 23 July 1885. Alfred and Justine were the parents of four children, three of whom survived to adulthood: Alfred J., Charlotte G., and Paul Curtis. A son, Douglas died in 1891 at the age of 3.[2][unreliable source?]
When the Harriet Lane Johnston choir school (St. Albans) opened, nine years after the National Cathedral School for Girls, Harding made Edgar Priest supervisor of music at these schools in August 1909. His formal appointment as the Cathedral's first organist and choirmaster came in 1911, in anticipation of the opening of Bethlehem Chapel for services the following May.
Death
Harding died on May 2, 1923, in Washington, D.C. Both he and his wife are buried in the Resurrection Chapel of Washington National Cathedral.[4]
