Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 10.djvu/419

 WHITNEY

"WHITNEY

various other scientific organizations, and at the time of his death was the eldest instructor at Harvard in point of length of service. He trans- lated '-The Use of the Blowpipe in Chemistry and Mineralogy "' by J. J. Berzelius (1845), and is the author of : SynojJsis of the Explorations . . . in the Lake Superior Land District (1849); and Report on the Geology and Topography . . . of Lake Superior Land District in the State of Michigan (Parti., 1850; Part II., 1851), both in collaboration with John W. Foster ; The Metallic Wealth of the United States (1854) ; Reports on the Geological Survey of loica (2 vols., 1858-59); Report on the Geological Survey of Wisco7isin (1862) ; Reports on the Geological Survey of Cali- fornia (6 vols., 1864-70) ; The Yosemite Guide- hook (1869); Contributions to Barometric Hyp- sometry (1874); Contributions to American Ge- ology (Vol. I., 1880): Xames and Places: Studies in Geographical and Topograjihical Xomenclature (1888); The United States (1889); TJie United States: Popidation, Immigration and Irrigation (1894); and edited six departments of " The Cen- tury Dictionary." Professor Whitney died in New London, N.H., Aug. 19, 1896.

WHITNEY, William Collins, cabinet officer, was born in Conway. Mass., July 15, 1841 ; son of Gen. James Scollay Whitney, and a descendant of Gen, Josiah Whitney, an officer of the Con- tinental army during the Revolution. His first ancestor in America, John Whitney, emi- grated from England and settled in Water- "^^^> town, Mass., in 1685.

. *">.„! He attended Willis-

ton seminary. East Hampton, Mass., was graduated from Yale, A.B., 1863, A.M., 1866, and attended the Harvard Law school, 1863-64. He established himself in practice in New York city, and be- came a leader of the county Democracy division of the Democratic party. He was married in 1869 to Flora, daugh- ter of Senator Henry B. Payne of Ohio. He was one of the organizei's of the Young Men's Demo- cratic club in 1871 ; was active in the movement against the Tweed ring ; was inspector of city schools in 1872, andwas defeated for district at- torney in 1872. He was appointed corporation council in 1875, 1876 and 1880 ; reorganized the department, with four bureaus, and in 1883 re- signed the office and returned to the practice of law. He was appointed secretary of the navy by

President Cleveland, March 5, 1885, and executed a policy of reorganization that made it possible for the first time in the history of the U.S. navy, to prepare complete statements of the receipts and expenditures in the service. During his ad- ministration the keels of the battleship Texas, the armed cruiser Montei'ey, three protected cruisers and four gunboats were laid, the inauguration of the New Navy in 1898. He stipulated for Ameri- can production in the manufacture of vessels, and raised the naval department to a high stand- ard of excellence. The honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred on him bj- Yale in 1888.

WHITNEY, William Dwight, philologist, was born in Northampton, Mass., Feb. 9, 1827 ; son of Josiah Dwight and Sarah (Williston) Whitney, and brother of Josiah Dwight Whitney, Jr. (q.v.), and of James Lyman Whitney (q.v.) and Henry Mitchell Whitney (q.v.). He attended the public schools ; was graduated from Williams college, A.B., 1845, A.M., 1848 ; was a clerk in the Northampton bank, 1845-48 ; mean- while studying languages ; was engaged in the U.S. survey of the Lake Superior region, con- ducted by his brother, Josiah D. Whitney, 1849 ; studied philology and Sanskrit in the department of philosophy and the arts at Yale college, 1849, and continued his specialties in the universities of Berlin and Tubingen, 1850-53. He was pro- fessor of Sanskrit language and literature at Yale, 1854-70. and held the same chair with the addition of comparative piiilology, 1870-94. He also organized the department of modern lan- guages in the Sheffield Scientific school in 1862. He was married, Aug. 28, 1856, to Elizabeth Woos- ter, daughter of Roger Sherman and Emily (Per- kins) Baldwin of New Haven, Conn. The follow- ing honorary degrees were conferred upon him : A.M. and Ph.D. by the University of Breslau, 1861 : A.M., Yale, 1867; LL.D., W^illiams, 1868, William and Mary, 1869, Harvard, 1876, and University of Edinburgh, 1889 ; J.U.D.. St. Andrew's, Scotland, 1874, and Litt.D., Columbia. 1887. He was a member of the American Oriental society fi-om 1849, its librarian, 1855-73, corresponding secre- tary. 1857-84, and president. 1884-94 ; a founder and first president of the American Philological as- sociation, 1869 ; a member of the National Aca- demy of Sciences, 1865-1062 ; an honorary ' mem- ber of the Royal Asiatic societies of Bengal, Japan, Peking and Italy ; the Philological society and Society of Biblical Ai"ch£eology of London, and of the Royal Academy of Dublin. He was also a for- eign member of various other learned societies ; a corresponding member of the academies of Berlin, St. Petersburg, Rome and Turin and the In- stitut de France, and a Foreign Knight of the Prussian Order Pour le Merite. With Rudolph Roth he prepared an edition of the " Atharva Veda