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| Will H. Hennig | |
|---|---|
| Name | Will H. Hennig |
| Birth date | 1889 |
| Birth place | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Death date | 1957 |
| Death place | Washington, D.C. |
| Occupation | Lawyer, Naval officer, Politician, Business executive |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania, Harvard Law School |
| Serviceyears | 1917–1922, 1942–1946 |
| Rank | Commander |
| Battles | World War I, World War II |
Will H. Hennig was an American naval officer, attorney, and political figure active in the first half of the 20th century. He combined military service in World War I and World War II with roles in legal practice, corporate governance, and public affairs in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.. Hennig's career intersected with prominent institutions such as Harvard Law School, the United States Navy, the Republican Party (United States), and several corporate boards.
Will H. Hennig was born in Philadelphia in 1889 into a family connected with regional commerce and civic institutions such as the Pennsylvania Railroad and the University of Pennsylvania. He attended preparatory studies at schools affiliated with the Episcopal Church and matriculated at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied law and participated in campus organizations linked to networks including the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the Union League of Philadelphia, and alumni circles tied to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. After earning his undergraduate degree, he pursued legal studies at Harvard Law School, where he encountered contemporaries who later served in the United States Department of Justice, the Federal Reserve System, and corporate law practices tied to firms such as Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Sullivan & Cromwell.
Hennig's military career began with his commission in the United States Navy during World War I, when he served alongside officers seconded from institutions like the Naval War College and personnel who later joined commands in the Atlantic Fleet and the Office of Naval Intelligence. After the armistice, he remained in naval reserve status while beginning legal practice in Philadelphia and maintaining ties to veteran organizations such as the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. With the outbreak of World War II he was recalled to active duty, assuming staff assignments that connected him to the Office of Strategic Services planning offices, the Navy Department, and advisory groups that liaised with commanders from the United States Fleet and Allied staffs including officers who had served at the Combined Chiefs of Staff level. He attained the rank of commander and worked on procurement and legal-administrative issues in theaters coordinated with commands like United States European Command and liaison offices associated with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Hennig engaged in partisan and civic politics primarily through the Republican Party (United States) and regional institutions in Pennsylvania. He participated in campaigns that intersected with figures from the Taft family, delegates associated with the Republican National Committee, and state contests involving leaders from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government and the Pennsylvania Republican Party. In Washington he advised members of Congressional committees connected to the United States House Committee on Naval Affairs and corresponded with policymakers from the Department of State and the Office of Price Administration on postwar transition issues. Hennig also served on advisory panels alongside former appointees from administrations of Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and later consulted with officials linked to Dwight D. Eisenhower's transition team.
In private practice Hennig joined a Philadelphia law firm engaged with corporate clients including shipping lines, manufacturing concerns, and financial institutions with ties to the New York Stock Exchange and regional banks such as Girard Trust Company. His work frequently intersected with regulatory matters handled by agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and contract negotiations involving government procurement during wartime with entities like Bethlehem Steel and Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company. He sat on corporate boards and counsel panels that connected him to executives from U.S. Steel, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, and utilities with holdings regulated by the Federal Power Commission. Hennig's legal writings and opinions addressed issues common to mergers and acquisitions, maritime liens, and government contracting, and he lectured at fora organized by the American Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
Hennig married into a family with social connections to institutions such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art and philanthropy associated with the Rockefeller Foundation; his spouse participated in civic activities tied to the Junior League and preservation efforts in Independence National Historical Park. He was active in fraternal orders linked to the American Legion and contributed to veterans' charities coordinated with the Red Cross and municipal relief efforts in Philadelphia. Hennig died in Washington, D.C. in 1957; his estate and papers were distributed to archives with associations to the University of Pennsylvania Archives and regional historical repositories such as the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. His legacy is reflected in legal precedents cited in cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and in institutional histories of naval administration that reference his advisory role during the mid-20th century.
Category:1889 births Category:1957 deaths Category:United States Navy officers Category:Harvard Law School alumni Category:People from Philadelphia