William Henry Harrison (1892 – April 23, 1956) was an American

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

(

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

) and businessperson. Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, William H. Harrison began his career in 1909, working with the

New York Telephone Company The New York Telephone Company (NYTel) was organized in 1896, taking over the New York City operations of the American Bell Telephone Company. Predecessor companies The Telephone Company of New York was formed under franchise in 1876. The princi ...

, Western Electric and

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...

. In July 1940 he took a leave of absence from his position as vice president and chief engineer of AT&T when he was appointed to lead the construction division of the National Defense Advisory Commission. He was named chief of shipbuilding, construction and supplies in the Production Division of the newly created

Office of Production Management The Office of Production Management was a United States Government agency that existed from January 1941 to centralize direction of the federal procurement programs and quasi-war production during the period immediately proceeding the United State ...

in January 1941, and later that year he became the OPM's director of construction. In July 1942 Harrison was commissioned a colonel in the U.S. Army, and he was soon promoted to brigadier general. He served as Director of Procurement for the

United States Army Services of Supply The Services of Supply or "SOS" branch of the Army of the USA was created on 28 February 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department" and War Department Circular No. 59, dated 2 March 1942. Services of Supp ...

. He was promoted to major general in July 1943, and given command of the Signal Corps Procurement and Distribution Service, responsible for all communications materiel of the U.S. Army and Army Air Forces. For his wartime service, Harrison received the

U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Th ...

, the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(Honorary Commander), the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

(Officer) and the

Hoover Medal The Hoover Medal is an American engineering prize. It has been given since 1930 for "outstanding extra-career services by engineers to humanity". The prize is given jointly by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Institute of Mi ...

. After World War II Harrison returned to his position at AT&T. He was president of

IT&T ITT Inc., formerly ITT Corporation, is an American worldwide manufacturing company based in Stamford, Connecticut. The company produces specialty components for the aerospace, transportation, energy and industrial markets. ITT's three business ...

from 1948 until his death in 1956.

References

External links

William Harrison
at the

Engineering and Technology History Wiki The Engineering and Technology History Wiki (ETHW) is a MediaWiki-based website dedicated to the history of technology. It started operating in 2015. It consists of articles, first-hand accounts, oral histories, landmarks and milestones. A partners ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, William Henry 20th-century American businesspeople United States Army generals ITT Inc. people 1892 births 1956 deaths AT&T people Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)