Harrison A. Glasgow was born in Chicago and raised in the northern suburbs and educated in Illinois public schools, and the University of Illinois. Following college, Glasgow joined the Army and served three years in intelligence duties in the Middle East and the Army Intelligence Training Center in Massachusetts. At the conclusion of his enlistment, Glasgow became a civilian employee of the Intelligence Training Center and served there until 1989, when he moved to Virginia. In Virginia, he served in various intelligence positions with the Army and national agencies until his retirement in July 2001.

Glasgow has devoted his retirement years to the conviction that we must protect our natural world. To this end, he has associated himself with local government agencies whose mission most closely aligns to this end. In Fairfax County government, these agencies are the Park Authority, the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services. He has served in volunteer positions with all of these, as well as other groups, in the hope of making a difference in the environmental wellbeing of his community. Harry serves as a Board Director on The Thoreau Society based in Concord, Massachusetts. The Thoreau Society exists to stimulate interest in and foster education about Thoreau’s life, works, legacy and his place in his world and in ours, challenging all to live a deliberate, considered life.

Harry Glasgow was honored as recipient of the 2016 Sally Ormsby Environmental Stewardship Award for years of dedicated service to Huntley Meadows Park. In 2021, the National Association of County Parks and Recreation Officials selected Harry with the NACPRO Outstanding Contributor Award for devoting his retirement to protecting the natural world including service on the Park Authority Board and Park Foundation Board. Harry has contributed countless volunteer hours to park advocacy, scholarship funding, land acquisition, and environmental education.

Harry seldom passes an opportunity to take a walk in a park – his favorite is Huntley Meadows – with those who want to know more about nature and the world around them – birds, trees, insects, plants, soil – and how they all work together. Having recently completed a seven-year membership on the Fairfax County Park Authority Board, Harry's continuing devotion to the Park system is expressed in his association with the Park Foundation.