Edward Whitman (1904 - 1972)

Edward's immediate relatives including parents, siblings, partnerships and children in the Whitman family tree.

Edward's Family

Add a parent

Add a parent

Edward Whitman Add a partner Add a child Add a partner Add a child

Add a sibling

Photos and snapshots taken of Edward Whitman, his Whitman family, and locations and places or events from his life.

Edward Whitman

Add photo

What do you remember about Edward Whitman? Share your memories of special moments and stories you have heard about him. Or just leave a comment to show the world that Edward is remembered.

Post

Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during Edward's lifetime

In 1904, in the year that Edward Whitman was born, the United States acquired the Panama Canal Zone. Now an unincorporated territory of the U.S., the Canal Zone had been previously held by the French, who were constructing a canal. The U.S. took over the construction of the Panama Canal and it was finally finished in 1914, when it was opened to commercial shipping. The United States held the Canal Zone until 1979.

In 1934, by the time he was 30 years old, on November 11th 1933, an extremely strong dust storm hit South Dakota, stripping topsoil. Other strong dust storms had occurred during 1933. Severe droughts continued to hit the Great Plains and the dust storms devastated agricultural production as well as people's' lives for several years. The Roosevelt administration and scientists eventually determined that farming practices had caused the conditions that led to the dust storms and the changes they implemented in farming stopped the Dust Bowl.

In 1956, when he was 52 years old, on May 20th, the U.S. tested the first hydrogen bomb dropped from a plane over Bikini Atoll. Previously, hydrogen bombs had only been tested on the ground. The Atomic Age moved forward.

In 1960, when he was 56 years old, on May 1st, an American CIA U-2 spy plane, piloted by Francis Gary Powers, was shot down by a surface-to-air missile over the Soviet Union. Powers ejected and survived but was captured. The U.S. claimed that the U-2 was a "weather plane" but Powers was convicted in the Soviet Union of espionage. He was released in 1962 after 1 year, 9 months and 10 days in prison.

In 1972, in the year of Edward Whitman's passing, on June 17th, 5 men were arrested by police in an attempt to bug the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington D.C.’s Watergate hotel. The burglars were found to be paid by cash from a slush fund used by the Committee for the Re-Election of the President - the official organization of President Nixon's campaign.