Henry Upham Harder Jr. was born in
Greenwich, Connecticut in 1965, a son of Henry U. Harder Sr. and Calista (Lincoln) Harder. Harder's father was a
United States Navy veteran of
World War II who became the president and chief executive officer of
Chubb & Son. His maternal grandparents were
Isabel Rockefeller Lincoln and
Frederic W. Lincoln IV.
Percy Avery Rockefeller and Isabel Goodrich Stillman were his great-grandparents, and his great-great-grandparents were
William Avery Rockefeller Jr. and Almira Geraldine Goodsell. Harder was educated in Connecticut and graduated from
Middletown, Rhode Island's
St. George's School in 1983. He attended the
University of Vermont (UVM) from 1983 to 1987, and graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in
political science. In 1996, he received his graduate certificate as an education specialist from UVM. After his college graduation, Harder joined the
Vermont Air National Guard; he completed the
Academy of Military Science course as a distinguished graduate in 1989 and received his commission as a
second lieutenant. ==Start of career==