Harold Gavin Leedy was president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City covers the 10th District of the Federal Reserve, which includes Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and portions of western Missouri and northern New Mexico. The Bank has branches in Denver, Oklahoma City, and Omaha. The current president is...

 from 1941 to 1961.

Leedy was born in Benton, Missouri

Benton, Missouri

Benton is a city in Scott County, Missouri, United States. The population was 732 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Scott County.-Geography:Benton is located at ....

, U.S. His family moved to Cameron, Missouri

Cameron, Missouri

Cameron is a city in Clinton and DeKalb Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 8,312 at the 2000 census.The Clinton County portion of Cameron is part of the Kansas City, MO–KS Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the DeKalb County portion is part of the St...

 when he was a child. He graduated fromWilliam Jewell College

William Jewell College

William Jewell College is a private, four-year liberal arts college of 1,100 undergraduate students located in Liberty, Missouri, U.S. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and other civic leaders, including Robert S. James, a Baptist minister and father of the...

. He interrupted his studies at what was then called the Kansas City School of Law (now University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law to join the Army during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. He was injured in France. He returned to Kansas City to complete his law studies. He subsequently taught classes there. Among his pupils was Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...

.

He joined the Kansas City Federal Reserve in 1938 as general counsel. He became president in 1941.