Uncas Aeneas Whitaker (March 22, 1900 – September 1975)Anthony Hallett, Diane Hallett, Entrepreneur Magazine Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs, 1997: John Wiley and Sons, pp. 286-287 () was a prominent

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

, and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. Raised in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, he received a mechanical engineering degree at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

, an electrical engineering degree from

Carnegie Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

and a law degree from the

Cleveland Law School Cleveland State University College of Law is the law school of Cleveland State University, a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. The school traces its origins to Cleveland Law School (founded in 1897), which merged in 1946 with the John ...

. At the age of 41, he founded Aircraft-Marine Products,

AMP Incorporated TE Connectivity is an American Swiss-domiciled technology company that designs and manufactures connectors and sensors for several industries, such as automotive, industrial equipment, data communication systems, aerospace, defense, medical, o ...

, in

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, which would become the world's largest manufacturer of electrical devices and connectors. His company was instrumental in the development of miniature components and advanced computer technologies which have been incorporated into thousands of business operations and commercial products. When Whitaker died in 1975, he left part of his fortune for a foundation to improve people's lives primarily by supporting

Biomedical engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic). BME is also traditionally logical sciences ...

research and education. Money provided for the

Whitaker Foundation The Whitaker Foundation was based in Arlington, Virginia and was an organization that primarily supported biomedical engineering education and research, but also supported other forms of medical research. It was founded and funded by U. A. Whitake ...

by Whitaker and his wife, Helen Whitaker, totaled $120 million. In 1994, the foundation was the sixty-first largest

foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with assets of $340 million and annual expenditures of $26 million. During his lifetime, Whitaker also created a philanthropic program to improve the

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

in the Harrisburg area, AMP's home community. Today the Harrisburg-area Regional Program continues this initiative.

Notable things named after U. A. Whitaker include:
Whitaker Institute of Biomedical Engineering
at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

The Whitaker Biomedical Engineering Institute
at the

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...

* U.A. Whitaker Building at the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, which houses the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, dedicated in 2002. *

Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts is located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The center is the first complex of its kind in the United States to use science as an entry to the arts. Whitaker Center exhibits science, the performing arts, and a ...

located in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

, dedicated 2000. * U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering at

Florida Gulf Coast University Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university in Lee County, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is its second youngest member. The university was established on May 3, 1991, and is accredited by the ...

, located in

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

. * Uncas A. and Helen F. Whitaker Building for the Life Sciences at the

. * Uncas A. Whitaker Hall for

Biomedical Engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic). BME is also traditionally logical sciences ...

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

References

External links

The Whitaker Foundation - History of the Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitaker, Uncas A. Engineers from Pennsylvania American manufacturing businesspeople Philanthropists from Pennsylvania MIT School of Engineering alumni Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering alumni People from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania People from Lincoln Center, Kansas People from Missouri 1900 births 1975 deaths Cleveland–Marshall College of Law alumni

See also

References

External links