John Hughes (archbishop)

The Most Reverend John Hughes
Archbishop of New York
Photo by Mathew Brady, c. 1860–1863
See	New York
Installed	December 20, 1842
Term ended	January 3, 1864
Predecessor	John Dubois
Successor	John McCloskey
Other post(s)	Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of New York and Titular Bishop of Basilinopolis (1838–1842); Priest of the Diocese of Philadelphia (1826–1838)
Orders
Ordination	October 15, 1826 by Henry Conwell
Consecration	January 7, 1838 by John Dubois
Personal details
Born	(1797-06-24)June 24, 1797 Annaloghan, County Tyrone, Ireland
Died	January 3, 1864(1864-01-03) (aged 66) New York City, US
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church
Alma mater	Mount St. Mary's Seminary
Signature

John Joseph Hughes (June 24, 1797 – January 3, 1864) was a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. He was the fourth Bishop and first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, serving between 1842 and his death in 1864.^[1] In 1841, he founded St. John's College, which would later become Fordham University.

A native of Ireland, Hughes was born and raised in Augher in the south of County Tyrone. He emigrated to the United States in 1817, and became a priest in 1826 and a bishop in 1838. A figure of national prominence, he exercised great moral and social influence, and presided over a period of explosive growth for Catholicism in New York. He was regarded as "the best known, if not exactly the best loved, Catholic bishop in the country."^[2] He became known as "Dagger John," both for his following the Catholic practice wherein a bishop precedes his signature with a cross, as well as for his aggressive personality.^[3]