Harvey V. Higley

Harvey Higley
Administrator of Veterans Affairs
In office
July 22, 1953 – November 13, 1957
PresidentDwight Eisenhower
Preceded byCarl Gray
Succeeded bySumner Whittier
Personal details
Born
Harvey Vanzandt Higley

(1893-02-12)February 12, 1893
Cheshire, Ohio, U.S.
DiedOctober 15, 1986(1986-10-15) (aged 93)
Marinette, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison (BS)

Harvey Vanzandt Higley (October 26, 1892 – October 15, 1986) was born in Cheshire, Ohio, and studied chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, graduating in October 1915.[1] After serving in World War I he went to work for the Ansul Chemical Company of Marinette, Wisconsin, which specialized in making fire retardant chemicals. Higley eventually became the company's president (1938–48)[2] and chairman of the board.[3]

Higley was also active in politics and veteran's affairs. He joined the American Legion and served as Wisconsin State Commander from 1941 to 1942.[4] From 1947 to 1953 he was chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. In July 1953 President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Higley to be the Administrator of Veterans Affairs,[5][6] where he helped to establish Veterans Day as a US Holiday.[7] Higley held the position until November 1957 when he retired and returned to Wisconsin.[5]

Higley died on October 15, 1986.[3]

  1. ^ Wisconsin alumnus Volume 88, Number 2 (Jan. 1987)
  2. ^ "ANSUL: Who We Are" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-09-17. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
  3. ^ a b The New York Times Obituaries: Harvey V. Higley
  4. ^ "The Wisconsin engineer" Volume 46, Number 6 (March 1942)
  5. ^ a b "Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Public Affairs. "Facts about the Department of Veterans Affairs" (January 2009)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  6. ^ Federal Records Division, National Archives and Records Administration. United States Government Organization Manual, 1956–1957. Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office. 1956 -1957. p. 522
  7. ^ "Marinette EagleHerald, November 9, 2008, "Higley helped establish Veterans Day"". Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2009.