Background
Kessel, Harlan Robert was born on February 15, 1928 in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. Son of Robert Lyle and Lily Marie (Anderson) Kessel.
Kessel, Harlan Robert was born on February 15, 1928 in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. Son of Robert Lyle and Lily Marie (Anderson) Kessel.
Bachelor, University of California, Berkeley, 1954.
Owner, Hassaram Rijhumal Kessel Painting Company, San Francisco, 1949-1958; manager library division, G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York City, 1958-1961; marketing director, Collier Macmillan Company. New York City, 1961-1963; marketing director, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1963-1985; director, East Bay Regional Park District, Oakland, California, 1975-1992.
President Alameda County History Society, 1993-1994, since 1996. With United States Navy 1946-1948. Member California Native Plant Society (vice president publications 1980-1987), Citizens for Urban Wilderness Areas (board directors since 1984), Lake Merritt Breakfast Club Foundation (board directors since 1997), Book Club of California (editor-in-chief 1990-1996).
Married Esther Ann Partanen, February 6, 1950. Children: Joanna Libby Curtis, Lori Alene Torrano.