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Patrolman

John J. Huber

Memphis Police Department — Memphis, TN
Illness
United States flag Tennessee flag
End of Watch September 2, 1878
Age 40
Tour of Duty 5 yrs
The Vigil Panel 18 · Column 1 · Line 7 ›
Gender Male
Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 93

Incident

Patrolman John Huber died as a result of contracting yellow fever during the Lower Mississippi Valley Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878.

The Memphis Police Department became understaffed after the resignations of more than 20 officers who fled the city with their families for safety. Only 31 officers remained on duty and at their assigned posts during the epidemic, including the Chief of Police. All 31 officers became sick, and 10 officers died from complications of yellow fever while carrying out their official police duties and caring for their families, who also became ill due to the epidemic.

Patrolman Huber survived the 1873 Memphis Yellow Fever epidemic. He was the only officer who had remained on duty in the city's Happy Hollow District, the area most affected by the epidemic. Chief of Police Phil Athy commended Patrolman Huber for his bravery in the annual report dated January 8, 1874. “I cannot but mention Patrolman J. J. Huber; he is a hero. All through the epidemic, he was the only man on duty in the infected district. Alone, with no partner to keep him company, or cheer him, he walked his beat, when, at every step, the solemn stillness of the air would seem a warning that told him of the fate of his dead comrades.”

He is buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee.

Yellow fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever that does not spread from person to person through coughing, sneezing, or touching; it is transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes that breed in densely populated warm or humid areas. However, in 1878, people did not understand how the disease was transmitted or how to prevent it. The federal government convened a commission to investigate the outbreak and established the National Board of Health in 1879.The names of every officer who died in the line of duty from Yellow Fever will likely never be known, but ODMP researchers continue to uncover new cases as part of our mission to never forget the fallen. View all officers who died during the 1878 Yellow Fever Epidemic.

Yellow fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever that does not spread from person to person through coughing, sneezing, or touching; it is transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes that breed in densely populated warm or humid areas. However, in 1878, people did not understand how the disease was transmitted or how to prevent it.

The federal government convened a commission to investigate the outbreak and established the National Board of Health in 1879.

The names of every officer who died in the line of duty from Yellow Fever will likely never be known, but ODMP researchers continue to uncover new cases as part of our mission to never forget the fallen.

View all officers who died during the 1878 Yellow Fever Epidemic.

Patrolman Huber survived the 1873 Memphis Yellow Fever epidemic. He was the only officer who had remained on duty in the city's Happy Hollow District, the area most affected by the epidemic. Chief of Police Phil Athy commended Patrolman Huber for his bravery in the annual report dated January 8, 1874. “I cannot but mention Patrolman J. J. Huber; he is a hero. All through the epidemic, he was the only man on duty in the infected district. Alone, with no partner to keep him company, or cheer him, he walked his beat, when, at every step, the solemn stillness of the air would seem a warning that told him of the fate of his dead comrades.”

In Our Keeping

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August 2, 2026
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August 2, 2026

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Tributes

148 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Patrolman Huber gave the Memphis Police Department 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the Memphis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Memphis Police Department
Type Police Department
Location Memphis, Shelby County, TN
Platform Identity mpd.shelby.tn.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 2, 1878
Tour of Duty 5 yrs
Age 40
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness
Cause Detail Duty related illness

The Sacrifice · Illness

John is one of 2,028 officers lost to illness in the United States, 7.4% of the 27,552 remembered there.

34,103 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

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Compare against
I

Time

In 1878, 10 officers in the United States were lost to illness, the 22nd heaviest of 108 years on record. The heaviest was 2021, with 564.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

John was 40. Of the 1,996 lost to illness in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 42 and 58; the middle age was 51. John had served 5 years; the middle length of service was 20 years.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

September holds 11.2% of these deaths in the United States; October holds the most, 14.9%. Mondays: 14.2%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Illness deaths account for 7.4% of all 27,552 deaths in the United States, the 3rd most common cause.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

Memphis Police Department has 94 officers remembered here, John among them.

Across the years

Patrolman John J. Huber

Memphis Police Department · End of Watch September 2, 1878

Where the Name Is Cut

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