William Dwight Whitney was born 9 February 1827 in Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States to Josiah Dwight Whitney (1786-1869) and Sarah Williston (1800-1833) and died 7 June 1894 New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States of unspecified causes. He married Elizabeth Wooster Baldwin (1824-1912) August 1856 in New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States.
Biography
William Dwight Whitney was born in Northampton, Massachusetts on February 9, 1827. His father was Josiah Dwight Whitney (1786–1869) of the New England Dwight family. His mother was Sarah Williston (1800–1833).
He entered Williams College at fifteen, graduating in 1845. He continued studying and worked at a bank in Northampton for several years, then assisted his older brother Josiah Whitney on a geological survey of the Lake Superior region in 1849. On this expedition, he began the study of Sanskrit in his leisure hours. In 1850 he went to Germany, and for three years studied Sanskrit. He spent his winters at Berlin under Albrecht Weber and Franz Bopp, the summers being devoted to work under Rudolf von Roth at Tübingen.
He gained wide reputation for his scholarship in the field. At Yale, he became professor of Sanskrit in 1854, adding comparative philology in 1869. He also taught modern languages at the Sheffield Scientific School. He served as secretary to the American Oriental Society from 1857 until he became its president in 1884.
He died at his home, on Whitney Avenue, on June 7, 1894.
Whitney revised definitions for the 1864 edition of Webster's American Dictionary, and in 1869 became a founder and first president of the American Philological Association. He wrote metrical translations of the Vedas, and numerous papers on the Vedas and linguistics, many of which were collected in the Oriental and Linguistic Studies series (1872–74). He wrote several books on language, and grammar textbooks of English, French, German, and Sanskrit. Although he suffered from a heart ailment in his later years, he was editor-in-chief of the first edition of the respected Century Dictionary, which appeared from 1889 to 1891.
Marriage & Family
On August 28, 1856 he married Elizabeth Wooster Baldwin. She was the daughter of Roger Sherman Baldwin, US Senator and Governor of the State of Connecticut. They had six children
- Edward Baldwin Whitney (1857-1911) - lawyer, justice, Assistant US Attorney General, and had sons mathematician Hassler Whitney (1907-1989) and
- Williston Clap Whitney (1859-1861)
- Marian Parker Whitney (1861-)
- Micah Parker Whitney (1861-)
- Roger Sherman Baldwin Whitney (1863-1874)
- Emily Henrietta Whitney (1864-)
- Margaret Dwight Whitney (1866-)
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Edward Baldwin Whitney (1857-1911) | 16 May 1857 New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut | 5 January 1911 Cornwall, Litchfield County, Connecticut | Anna Josepha Newcomb (1871-) |
| Williston Clap Whitney (1859-1861) | |||
| Marian Parker Whitney (1861-) | |||
| Micah Parker Whitney (1861-) | |||
| Roger Sherman Baldwin Whitney (1863-1874) | |||
| Emily Henrietta Whitney (1864-) | |||
| Margaret Dwight Whitney (1866-) | |||
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Josiah Dwight Whitney (1819-1896) | |||
| Elisabeth Noble Whitney (1822-1863) | |||
| Sarah Birdseye Whitney (1824-1864) | |||
| William Dwight Whitney (1826-1826) | |||
| William Dwight Whitney (1827-1894) | 9 February 1827 Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States | 7 June 1894 New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States | Elizabeth Wooster Baldwin (1824-1912) |
| Margaret E Whitney (1829-1836) | |||
| Maria Whitney (1830-1910) | |||
| Edward Payson Whitney (1833-1858) | |||
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| James Lyman Whitney (1835-1910) | |||
| Alice Clarissa Whitney (1839-1840) | |||
| Alice Lincoln Whitney (1840-1900) | |||
| Henry Mitchell Whitney (1843-1911) | |||
| Ellen Douglas Whitney (1845-1846) | |||
Residences
Footnotes (including sources)
| ‡ General |
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