American author, editor, explorer, outdoorsman and war correspondent
Caspar Whitney
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Portrait_of_Caspar_Whitney.jpg/220px-Portrait_of_Caspar_Whitney.jpg) Caspar Whitney
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Born
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1864-09-02
)
September 2, 1864
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Died
| January 18, 1929
(1929-01-18)
(aged 64)
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Caspar William Whitney
(September 2, 1864 ? January 18, 1929)
[1]
was an American author, editor, explorer, outdoorsman and war correspondent.
[2]
He originated the concept of the
All-American team
in
college football
in 1889 when he worked for
Harper's Magazine
.
Biography
[
edit
]
Caspar Whitney was the son of John Henry Whitney (1833?1869) and Amelia D. Goldermann, born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was educated at Saint Mathew's College in California.
[3]
During the
Spanish?American War
, Whitney submitted articles from the front in Cuba. At the
Battle of Las Guasimas
, he accompanied
General Young
's 1st and 10th (Regular) Cavalry. His published map of the battle is considered the most accurate of that action published at that time. His depiction of the fighting on the right is made from personal observation. His depiction of the left where the
Rough Riders
fought was based on post-battle interviews.
From 1900, he was an owner and editor-in-chief of the monthly
Outing
magazine, which promoted the outdoors and sporting pursuits, as well as a good deal of adventure fiction; authors included
Jack London
and
Clarence E. Mulford
. He was a founding member of
the Explorers Club
(1904) after expeditions in North and South America. He later edited
Outdoor America
.
[3]
He declared bankruptcy in 1910.
As a sports journalist he was an advocate of athletic amateurism and was a member of the
International Olympic Committee
(1900?1905) and the
American Olympic Committee
(president 1906?1910). He wrote on a wide range of subjects including big-game hunting, inter collegiate sporting contests (especially football and baseball), amateur versus professional contests, and the Olympic Games.
[4]
In the early 1900s, he edited the
American Sportsman's Library
, a quality series of 16 volumes.
Whitney testified in a lawsuit against him that he earned a salary of $8,000 (nearly $200,000 inflation adjusted to 2008) for editing
Outing
and $1,500 (about $35,000 inflation adjusted) for editing the
American Sportsman's Library
.
[5]
During
World War I
, Whitney was involved in Europe with the
Commission for Relief in Belgium
[6]
(1915), and then war correspondent of the
New-York Tribune
[7]
(1917?1918).
Whitney married three times. He wed Anna Childs in 1889 and Cora Adele Chase in 1897. He was married a third time in 1909, to
Florence Canfield Whitney
, who like him did relief work in Belgium during World War I. She later helped found the
League of Women Voters
and served on the Democratic National Committee. She remained active politically until her death in a motor vehicle accident in 1941.
[8]
Caspar Whitney wrote a biography of Florence's father, the colorful miner and industrialist
Charles A. Canfield
(1848?1913), in 1930.
Books
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Who's Who Whitney's
- ^
Time
, January 29, 1929
- ^
a
b
Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920).
"Whitney, Caspar"
.
Encyclopedia Americana
.
- ^
J. A. Lucas,
Journal of Olympic History
May 2000
- ^
N.Y. Times, May 2, 1903
- ^
Committee of Belgium Relief
- ^
New-York Tribune
- ^
"
"Woman Political Leader Killed: Mrs. Caspar Whitney, Former Los Angeles Resident, Dies in Crash"
". July 4, 1941: 12.
Sources
[
edit
]
- Dillon Wallace Papers
- Edgar Rice Burroughs Library
- Explorer's Club History
- Kent State Smart Club
External links
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International
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National
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People
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Other
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