army officer, b. Crown Point, Ind. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y. (1889) and the Army War College (1905). He served with the artillery branch of the service and won distinction in the Philippines (1898-1901), and continued in the army from 1901 to 1917, serving in various capacities, including duty with the General Staff Corps (1903-1906, 1912-1914). At the outbreak of World War I, Haan was promoted to brigadier general and was assigned to artillery command at Camp MacArthur, Texas. On Dec. 11, 1917, he was appointed to command the 32nd or "Red Arrow" Division, comprised largely of soldiers from Wisconsin and Michigan, and on Dec. 17, 1917, he was advanced to major general. General Haan led the 32nd Division in defensive operations in Alsace and in major offensives of the Aisne-Marne, Oise-Aisne, and Meuse-Argonne campaigns, and was awarded many decorations, including the Distinguished Service Medal. After the war he served as director of the war plans division of the general staff (1919-1921), and on July 3, 1920, was promoted to major general of the U.S. army. He retired from active duty in Mar., 1922, and spent the remainder of his life in Milwaukee where he served as special writer for the Milwaukee Journal. Dict. Amer. Biog.; G. W. Cullum, et al., Biog. Register of . . . West Point (7 vols., 1891-1920); Milwaukee journal, Oct. 27, 1924; W. G. Haan Papers.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the William George Haan Papers for details.

View newspaper clippings at Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]