Harry G. Haskell Jr.

Harry Garner "Hal" Haskell Jr. (May 27, 1921 – January 16, 2020) was an American businessman and Republican politician from Delaware who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1957 to 1959 and as mayor of Wilmington, Delaware from 1969 to 1973. He was a member of the Republican Party.

Early life Haskell was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the son of Elizabeth (Denham) and Harry Garner Haskell, a DuPont executive. He was educated at Tower Hill School in Wilmington, and St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts. He attended Princeton University from 1940 until 1942 when he enlisted in the United States Coast Guard Reserve. He was made an ensign in 1943 and was discharged as a lieutenant (junior grade) 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. He was secretary of the Departmental Council of the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1953 and 1954, consultant to the special assistant to U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1955, 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. At the time of his death he had eight children, nineteen grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.

Electoral history