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Built under yard No. 240 as a passenger liner by J & G Thomson in Glasgow for the Iman and International S.S. Company, which at that time was owned by the International Navigation Company, the owners of the Red Star Line.
15 March 1888 launched under the name CITY OF NEW YORK.
Tonnage 10.499 grt, 5.573 net, dim. 170.7 x 19.25 x 12.75m., length bpp 160.78.
Two 3-cyl. triple expansion steam engines, manufactured by Thomson, 20.000 ihp., speed 20 knots. Twin screws. 9 double-ended boilers in three separate boiler-rooms, divided by watertight bulkheads, supplied steam. Coalbunkers were placed on each sides of the boilerroom.
By full speed 320 tons of coal was burned every 24 hours.
Passenger accommodation for 540 first, 200 second and 1.000 third class passengers.
July 1888 she ran trials, her maximum speed she reached was 20.1 knots.
19 July delivered to owners.

01 August 1888 she sailed from Liverpool on her maiden voyage to New York, at that time she was the largest, fastest and most luxurious liner of the world.
In 1890 she had her famous race with the TEUTONIC.
04 September 1890 she sailed from Queenstown on 02.45pm, the TEUTONIC at 02.58pm. They arrived at New York on the 10th, the CITY OF NEW YORK did arrive 5 minutes later that the TEUTONIC.
The homeward voyage both sailed out the same time, and the TEUTONIC won with 12 minutes.
In August 1892 she achieved her only record, sailing from Sandy to Queenstown in 5 days 19 hours and 57 minutes. Her average speed was 20.11 knots.
Early February she made her last voyage for the Iman line to Liverpool
22 February 1893 she was transferred to US register when the US Government arranged a mail contract with the Iman and International SS Company and a special Act of Congress authorized the transfer of two of the fastest liners of the company to US registry. Till that time the British vessels transported the USA mail.
When she was at New York on the 22nd February the red Ensign was lowered and the Stars and Stripes hoisted. She was transferred to the American Line and renamed NEW YORK, and switched over to the New York Southampton service.
04 March 1893 she arrived at Southampton for the first time, sailing on the 11th again for New York. Her passenger accommodation was reduced to 290 first, 250 second and 725 third class passengers. Tonnage 10.508 grt.
June 1894 she collided with the steamship DELANO off Nantucket, the NEW YORK was slightly damaged but the DELANO heavily.
When the Spanish-American war broke out in 1898 the NEW YORK at that time in European waters was ordered home, without any passengers and cargo she sailed home.
After arrival at New York she was renamed HARVARD, and in service as an auxiliary cruiser by the US Navy, with an armament of 8 – 5inch and 8 - 6pdrs.
Commissioned 26 April 1898 at New York under command of Captain C.S.Cotton, with a crew 407.
First assigned as a scout, she sailed from New York on 30 April in search for the Spanish fleet.
She was blockaded at St Pierre, Martinique from 11 till 17 May before she could proceed to Santiago de Cuba and St Nicholas Mole, Haiti, with dispatches from Commodore Schley.
Then she sailed to Newport News, Virginia, where she stayed from 7 – 26 June, her crew of merchant marine men were officially taken into the Naval service.

She returned to the Caribbean waters with troops and supplies arriving at Altares, Cuba around 1 July. On 3 July she received news that the Spanish fleet had sortied. After Rear Admiral Sampson’s victory off Santiago the HARVARD rescued over 600 officers and crew of the lost Spanish vessels.
Thereafter she headed to the United States on 10 July 1898 and was handed over to the War Department.
Sailed to Santiago de Cuba to embark US troops back to the United States.
27 August she arrived at New York and was decommissioned on 27 August at the New York Navy yard.

Renamed again NEW YORK she resumed her service across the North Atlantic.
From May 1901 till 1903 she was at the Cramp shipyard in Philadelphia for a facelift. She got new 4-cyl. triple expansion steam engines and new boilers. One of her three funnels was removed, tonnage 10.798 grt.
April 1903 she entered service again.
During 1904 he was in collision with the P&O steamer ASSAYE during fog off Cherbourg, both vessels got heavy damage above the waterline.
1913 When she had passed her prime on the Atlantic crossing the first class was removed and the passenger accommodation given as second and third class.
Shortly before the outbreak of World War I she was in collision with Hamburg America liner PRETORIA. She was not much damaged and was kept in service.
When war broke out her European port was changed to Liverpool, and for the next three year she sailed between New York and Liverpool.
When the USA entered the war she was requisitioned.
09 May 1918 in service as a troop transport, commissioned on 24 May 1918 under the name PLATTSBURG under command of Commander C.C. Bloch. Armed with 3 – 6inch and 2 – 3inch guns and some smaller guns.
She made four voyages from New York to Liverpool with troops.
When she carried Admiral Sims on board a mine in the Mersey channel damaged her, but she made port and was repaired. Most probably her second mast was removed during this repair.
After the war she made an other seven voyages bringing home over 24.000 USA troops.
After her last crossing she arrived at New York on 29 August 1919 and returned to her owners on 06 October 1919.
She was given first a refit, and renamed again NEW YORK; she resumed service in February 1920 from New York to Southampton.
November 1920 laid up.
1921 Sold to Polish Navigation Co., New York, a new company for the emigrant trade from the Baltic.
After one roundtrips from New York to Antwerp-Danzig-Southampton-Cherbourg-Brest to New York which was not so successful, the company got in financial difficulties, the NEW YORK was seized for depth and sold.
1922 First to the Irish American Line, later the same year to United Transatlantic Line, thereafter to the American Black Sea Line.
10 June 1922 she sailed from New York for the Mediterranean.
The passage took her one month from New York to Naples and when on her way to the Black Sea to pick up Russian refugees she was seized in the Constantinople for depts.
She was sold by auction by order of the US Government
Sold to a shipbreaker in Genoa in 1923, where she was scrapped the same year.

Great Britain 2004 57p sg? , scott?

Source: merchant Fleets in profile Vol. 2 by Duncan Haws. Great Passenger Ships of the World Vol I 1858-1912 by Arnold Kludas. Steamers of the past by J.H.Isherwood. http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/cruisers/harvard.txt

Photo of the ship CITY OF NEW YORK 1888.