Harmon, Francis Stuart, 1895-

Francis Harmon was born in Paulding, Mississippi. He served in France in World War I and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1922. He then returned to Mississippi and became editor of a newspaper in Hattiesburg. He served as chairman of the Mississippi State YMCA Committee for five years in the mid-1920s. In 1924 he became a member of the National Council, and in 1929 he was elected its president. In 1932 he succeeded John Mott as general secretary for the International Committee. He resigned in 1936 and moved to Hollywood to work in the motion picture industry, where he remained until 1952. In the early 1960s he was the director of the New York City association and guided it through a merger with the Brooklyn association to form the YMCA of Greater New York. He was on the Board of Deacons and the Board of Trustees of the Riverside Community Church in New York; he was also vice president and a trustee of the Interchurch Center from 1957 until his death.

Francis S. Harmon (1895-1977) was an executive with the Motion Picture Association of America for 15 years, resigning as vice president in 1952. During World War II he served as vice chairman of the War Activities Committee of the motion picture industry, which worked to coordinate film industry support of the U.S. war effort. He was active for 40 years in the Riverside Church of New York City and spearheaded efforts to establish the church's radio station, WRVR, which began broadcasting in 1961. Harmon was also active in efforts to restore the Vieux Fort on Saint Lucia in the West Indies and to establish a library at the fort.