Born in Marshall, Montana in 1909, and receiving a B.A. from the University of Kansas, E.G. Higdon’s career with the Maytag Corporation exceeded the length of four decades. Higdon joined Maytag in the mid-1930s, beginning is tenure there as an internal auditor. By 1962 he already rose to the position of president, and ten years later became chairman of the board. In 1974 Higdon retired as chairman and chief executive officer, and he died at the age of 79 from complications of Parkinson’s disease.
During Higdon’s time as CEO of Maytag he pushed for the expansion of the company past just the manufacture of washers and dryers to additional major appliances such as ranges, ovens and refrigerators. During this expansion Higdon was able to achieve record financial results making Maytag one of the best companies in terms of financial performance with excellent return on assets for over ten years.