Whitney, William C.

William C. (1841-1904), an American politician and business man. He was a native of Conway, Massachusetts, a graduate of Yale and the Harvard Law School. He practiced law in New York City. He fought the Tweed Ring and supported Grover Cleveland's campaign for the governorship in 1882. Under Cleveland he was secretary of the navy, 1884-8. In this capacity he urged the building of large battleships. He was one of the organizers and promoters of the Metropolitan Street Railway of New York in which competing street-car lines were merged. He was a large landholder and had a number of residences in various states as well as a home in London. He owned a game preserve of 16,000 acres in the Adirondack region. He bore the expense of extensive explorations in Wyoming and other parts of the West in the search for remains of prehistoric horses. He was an enthusiastic yachtsman. He was a keen horseman, an advocate of fair sport and of a more refined atmosphere around the stable and the race track. He was a man of integrity, ability, patriotism, sportsmanship, and wealth.