John Barbee (September 16, 1815 – December 22, 1888) was the tenth Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky from 1855 to 1857 and chiefly remembered for his part in the anti-immigrant riots known as "Bloody Monday".
He was born in Pewee Valley, Kentucky, and, after his parents died, moved to Louisville at age 14.
[citation needed] The most notable event of his term was "Bloody Monday", an uprising against (mostly Catholic) German and Irish immigrants on August 6, 1855.
Know-Nothings prevented naturalized German and Irish from voting, and riots erupted on the streets of the Butchertown district of Louisville.
Barbee finally intervened to prevent rioters from destroying the city's Catholic cathedral.