John Henry Whallen

American political boss

John Henry Whallen (May 1, 1850 – December 3, 1913) was a Democratic Party political boss in Louisville, Kentucky during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Born in New Orleans, he moved with his family to Cincinnati, Ohio in his youth.As a boy during the Civil War he served the Confederate Army in Schoolfield's Battery as a "powder monkey", a boy who carried gunpowder.

He later served as a courier for General John Hunt Morgan.His nicknames included "The Buckingham Boss" and "Napoleon".