Harold H. Velde
Born on a farm near Parkland, Tazewell County, IL, April 1, 1910, Harold Himmel Velde graduated from Northwestern University in 1931 and from the University of Illinois Law School at Champaign in 1937. After coaching and teaching at Hillsdale (IL) Community High School 1931-1935, he was admitted to the bar in 1937 and commenced the practice of law in Pekin, IL. He served as a private in the Signal Corps of the United States Army in 1942 and 1943 and as special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in sabotage and counter-espionage division 1943-1946. Elected county judge of Tazewell County in 1946, he served until 1949. Elected as a Republican to the Eighty-first Congress to succeed Everett McKinley Dirksen, Velde served until deciding not to run for reelection in 1956. He chaired the Committee on Un-American Activities (Eighty-third Congress). Following his House service, he practiced law in Urbana, IL, and Washington, D.C., until May 5, 1969. He became regional counsel, General Services Administration. 1969-1974. Velde died on September 1, 1985.