Harvey Vanzandt Higley (October 26, 1892 – October 15, 1986) was born in

Cheshire, Ohio Cheshire is a village in Gallia County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 132 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Point Pleasant, WV–OH Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Cheshire, Ohio, was named for ...

, and studied chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, graduating in October 1915. After serving in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he went to work for the

Ansul Chemical Company Ansul is a corporation headquartered in Marinette, Wisconsin that manufactures fire suppression systems, extinguishers, and offers fire training. Ansul's initial activities included production of cattle feed, refrigerants and selected specialty c ...

Marinette, Wisconsin Marinette is a city in and the county seat of Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the south bank of the Menominee River, at its mouth at Green Bay, part of Lake Michigan; to the north is Stephenson Island, part of the ...

, which specialized in making

fire retardant A fire retardant is a substance that is used to slow down or stop the spread of fire or reduce its intensity. This is commonly accomplished by chemical reactions that reduce the flammability of fuels or delay their combustion. Fire retardants m ...

chemicals. Higley eventually became the company's president (1938–48) and chairman of the board.The New York Times Obituaries: Harvey V. Higley
/ref> Higley was also active in politics and veteran's affairs. He joined the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

and served as Wisconsin State Commander from 1941 to 1942. From 1947 to 1953 he was chairman of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. In July 1953 President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

appointed Higley to be the

Administrator of Veterans Affairs The Administrator of Veterans Affairs was the head of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration, a United States Government agency responsible for military veterans benefits. The administrator was appointed by the Pre ...

, where he helped to establish

Veterans Day Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who were discharged under conditions other than di ...

as a US Holiday.Marinette EagleHerald, November 9, 2008, "Higley helped establish Veterans Day"
/ref> Higley held the position until November 1957 when he retired and returned to Wisconsin. Higley died on October 15, 1986.

References

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* * 1892 births 1986 deaths Businesspeople from Wisconsin People from Gallia County, Ohio People from Marinette, Wisconsin People in the chemical industry Republican Party of Wisconsin chairs United States Department of Veterans Affairs officials University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Wisconsin Republicans 20th-century American businesspeople United States Army personnel of World War I {{US-mil-bio-stub