Harry Garner Haskell Jr. (May 27, 1921 – January 16, 2020) was an American businessman and Republican politician from

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. He served as mayor of Wilmington from 1969 to 1973 and represented Delaware in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from 1957 to 1959.

Early life

Haskell was born in Wilmington, the son of Elizabeth (Denham) and Harry Garner Haskell, a

DuPont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...

executive. He was educated at

Tower Hill School Tower Hill School is a private college preparatory school in Wilmington, Delaware, offering instruction for pre-school through 12th grade. History Tower Hill was founded in 1919. Its main building was designed by Wilmington architects Brow ...

in Wilmington, and St. Mark's School in

Southborough, Massachusetts Southborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It incorporates the villages of Cordaville, Fayville, and Southville. Its name is often informally shortened to Southboro, a usage seen on many area signs and maps. At th ...

. He attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

from 1940 until 1942 when he enlisted in the

United States Coast Guard Reserve The United States Coast Guard Reserve is the reserve component of the United States Coast Guard. It is organized, trained, administered, and supplied under the direction of the Commandant of the Coast Guard through the Assistant Commandant for ...

. He was made an ensign in 1943 and was discharged as a

lieutenant (junior grade) Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...

in 1946.

Career

Haskell was the personnel manager of Speakman Co. in 1947 and 1948, and president of Greenhill Dairies, Inc., from 1948 until 1953, and then owner and operator of Hill Girt Farm in

Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania Chadds Ford is a census-designated place (CDP) in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Chester County, Pennsylvania, Chester counties, Pennsylvania, United States, comprising the Unincorporated area, unincorporated communities of Chadds F ...

. He was secretary of the Departmental Council of the

United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

in 1953 and 1954, consultant to the special assistant to U.S. President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

in 1955, and president of the University of Delaware Research Foundation. Haskell was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions from 1952 until 1984 and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1956, defeating incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative Harris McDowell. Haskell voted in favor of the

Civil Rights Act of 1957 The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the first federal civil rights law passed by the United States Congress since the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The bill was passed by the 85th United States Congress and signed into law by President Dwight D. E ...

. He served in the Republican minority in the 85th Congress but lost his bid for a second term in 1958 to McDowell. Haskell served from January 3, 1957, until January 3, 1959, during the administration of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He was elected mayor of Wilmington, Delaware, in 1969, serving one term until 1973, the most recent Republican to serve as mayor of Wilmington. In 1970, he was appointed a member of the President's National Reading Council and was president of Abercrombie and Fitch. He also worked with Computer International, Computer Time Sharing, Inertial Motors Corps, and Interpoint Corp.

Advocacy

He was a founding member of the Brandywine River Museum and Conservancy in Chadds Ford and served on the board for over fifty years. He was also instrumental in creating two empowerment and mentor groups, in Worcester, Massachusetts and Wilmington Delaware; Dynamy and Delaware Futures, respectively.

Personal life

On January 16, 2020, Haskell died in his home in Chadds Ford, age 98. At the time of his death he had eight children, nineteen grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.

Electoral history

References

External links

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Haskell, Hal 1921 births 2020 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Delaware United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II Businesspeople from Delaware Eisenhower administration personnel Mayors of Wilmington, Delaware Military personnel from Delaware People from Chadds Ford Township, Pennsylvania Princeton University alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Delaware St. Mark's School (Massachusetts) alumni United States Coast Guard officers Tower Hill School alumni 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives