Uncas Aeneas Whitaker (b. March 22, 1900 in Lincoln, Kansas; d. September 1975 in Maine)[1] was raised in Missouri. He was a prominent mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, lawyer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. 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 Incorporated, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 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 literally 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.[3]
Notable things named after U. A. Whitaker include: