Herman Frasch Whiton (April 6, 1904 – September 6, 1967) was the son of Henry Devereux Whiton and Frieda Frasch. He was an American

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

and Olympic champion. He was born in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

to Henry Devereux Whiton and Frieda Frasch, heiress to the Union Sulpher Company. He was also the grandson of inventor and entrepreneur

Herman Frasch Herman Frasch r Hermann Frasch(December 25, 1851 in Oberrot bei Gaildorf, Württemberg – May 1, 1914 in Paris) was a chemist, mining engineer and inventor known for his work with petroleum and sulfur. Biography Early life He was the son of Joh ...

and died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He was married to Emelyn Thatcher Whiton from 1939 to 1957. On Jan 15, 1958, Herman married Katherine M. O'Brien, 41 years of age. He graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. After graduating he was a supporter of the university's Physics Department, and was instrumental in its acquisition of a

Synchrotron A synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator, descended from the cyclotron, in which the accelerating particle beam travels around a fixed closed-loop path. The magnetic field which bends the particle beam into its closed p ...

. He served as President and Chairman of the Board of the

Union Sulphur Company The Union Sulphur Company was an American sulfur mining corporation founded in 1896 by the famous inventor Herman Frasch. It utilized the Frasch Process to extract previously inaccessible sulfur deposits located beneath swampland in Louisiana. ...

until 1952. Llanoria Diagram

He competed at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he won a gold medal in the '' 6 metre class'' with the boat 'Llanoria'."1948 Summer Olympics – London, United Kingdom – Sailing"
''databaseOlympics.com'' (Retrieved on May 31, 2008) At the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

he won a gold medal with the same boat ''Llanoria'', but with a different crew that included his wife

Emelyn Whiton Emelyn Thatcher Whiton (née ''Leonard'', later ''Righter'', March 1, 1916 – March 1, 1962) was an American sailor. Emelyn Leonard was born in New York City. In 1939 she married Herman Whiton, who was helmsman of the American boat ''Llanoria' ...

."1952 Summer Olympics – Helsinki, Finland – Sailing"
''databaseOlympics.com'' (Retrieved on May 31, 2008) He also twice won the

Scandinavian Gold Cup Scandinavian Gold Cup is a sailing race held annually for 5.5 metre yachts. It is a nation race, meaning that each participant nation can send only one boat/team. Despite its name, it has been an international competition almost through its entir ...

in the 6 metre class.

References

1904 births 1967 deaths American male sailors (sport) Olympic gold medalists for the United States in sailing Princeton Tigers sailors Sailors at the 1928 Summer Olympics – 6 Metre Sailors at the 1948 Summer Olympics – 6 Metre Sailors at the 1952 Summer Olympics – 6 Metre Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics {{US-yachtracing-Olympic-medalist-stub

See also

References