John Frederick Finerty (September 10, 1846 – June 10, 1908) was a prominent journalist and U.S. Congressional Representative from Illinois.

A year later, in the midst of the Civil War, he fled to the United States to avoid arrest in Ireland for his activities.

[3] Of his first foray into Porfirian Mexico, Finerty documented contemporary reactions to the election of President Porfirio Díaz; described the Texan city of San Antonio, the villages of Uvalde and Eagle Pass, and the Mexican town of Santa Rosa; and reported conversations with General E.O.C.

[4] In March 1879, attached to the American Industrial Deputation to Mexico by Storey, Finerty was the first U.S. journalist to be granted an audience with President Diaz at the National Palace.

At the conclusion of the Deputation's itinerary at Vera Cruz, rather than return to the U.S. with the delegation, Finerty remained in Mexico and went about further exploring and reporting from the country on his own.