Mechanical engineer Chemical engineer lawyer entrepreneur philanthropist
Uncas Aeneas Whitaker (March 22, 1900 – September 1975)[1] was a prominent mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, lawyer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Raised in Missouri, he received a mechanical engineering degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an electrical engineering degree from Carnegie Institute of Technology and a law degree from the Cleveland Law School.[2] At the age of 41, he founded Aircraft Marine Products (AMP), in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which would become the world's largest manufacturer of electrical devices and connectors.[3] 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.[2]
When Whitaker died in 1975, he left part of his fortune for a foundation to improve people's lives primarily by supporting Biomedical engineering research and education. Money provided for the Whitaker Foundation by Whitaker and his wife, Helen Whitaker, totaled $120 million. In 1994, the foundation was the sixty-first largest foundation in the United States 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 in the Harrisburg area, AMP's home community. Today the Harrisburg-area Regional Program continues this initiative.[4]
