George Tryon Harding, Sr.

George Tryon Harding (June 12, 1843 – November 19, 1928), known as Tryon Harding, was an American physician and businessman. He is recognized primarily as the father of Warren G. Harding, the 29th president of the United States. Harding was born in Blooming Grove, Ohio, to Mary Anne Crawford and Charles Alexander Harding, both of Pennsylvania origin. He was the third of ten children in his family, with five sisters surviving to adulthood.

Harding received his early education at a private school operated by his aunt and later attended Iberia College, from which he graduated in 1860 with a bachelor's degree. After graduation, he initially taught at a small school near Mount Gilead, Ohio, before enrolling at the Ontario Academy. In 1863, Harding enlisted in the Union Army as a fifer in the 96th Ohio Infantry but was discharged soon after due to pleurisy. He re-enlisted in 1864, serving as a drummer in the 136th Ohio Infantry Regiment, and participated in military actions in Virginia, including service during Early's attack on Washington. Harding contracted typhoid fever in August 1864 and was discharged for health reasons.

Following his military service, Harding resumed teaching and constructed a house completed in 1865. In 1869, he began medical training by studying second-hand medical books and accompanying a local doctor on rounds. He attended a semester of medical school at Cleveland Homeopathic Hospital College in 1870, from which he received a license to practice medicine. He returned to the same institution for additional study in 1873, earning his Doctorate of Medicine (M.D.).

As a practicing country doctor late into his sixties, Harding's income was inconsistent, often paid in farm produce, and he relied on his wife’s earnings as a midwife. In his later years, he frequently borrowed money from family members and supplemented his income through various ventures, including purchasing and selling farm equipment, land speculation, insurance sales, hardware store management, and farming—most of which were unsuccessful. His notable investment included a half-interest in the Caledonia Argus newspaper.

Harding's prominence increased in 1920 when his son, Warren G. Harding, secured the Republican Party's presidential nomination. During the campaign, Harding highlighted his Civil War service, including photographs of him in a Grand Army of the Republic uniform. He publicly claimed he would be the first to see his son elected president and made statements indicating personal grievances. His public appearances diminished after President Harding’s death in 1923, although he participated in his son's funeral. He outlived his wife Phoebe (who died in 1910) and his daughter-in-law Florence Kling Harding (who died in 1924).

George Tryon Harding died in Santa Ana, California, in November 1928 at the age of 85, outliving his son by five years. He was married three times: first to Phoebe Dickerson in 1864, with whom he had eight children; second to Eudora Kelley Luvisi in 1911, from whom he divorced in 1916; and third to Alice Severns in 1921. His children included Warren G. Harding, Charity, Mary, Daisy, George Tryon Harding II, Caroline, Charles (who died young), and Almira (who also died young). Warren G. Harding served as a state senator, Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, U.S. senator from Ohio, and ultimately as President of the United States.