Whittaker was born 7 March 1905 in
Cambridge, the son of mathematician
Edmund Taylor Whittaker and his wife, Mary Ferguson Macnaghten Boyd (grand-daughter of
Thomas Jamieson Boyd). He was educated at St Salvator's School in
St Andrews then
Fettes College in
Edinburgh. He then studied Maths and Physics at
Edinburgh University from the age of 15, graduating MA in 1924. He followed this by three years at
Trinity College, Cambridge, gaining a second MA in 1927. In 1927 started his academic career as an assistant lecturer in Mathematics at Edinburgh University. In 1928 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were
Ralph Allan Sampson,
Charles Glover Barkla, Sir
Charles Galton Darwin and
George James Lidstone. He was awarded a doctorate (DSc) in 1929, followed by a fellowship at
Pembroke College, Cambridge, before becoming a professor of
pure mathematics at
Liverpool University in 1933. During the
Second World War he served with the
Royal Artillery including time in the
8th Army on
Field-Marshal Montgomery's staff in Egypt and Tunisia 1942/43. In 1944/45 he was Scientific Advisor to the Army Council and rose to the rank of Lt Colonel. After the war he returned to Liverpool, becoming Dean of Science, then in 1953 moved to
Sheffield to take up the post of Vice-Chancellor of the university. During his office the University expanded from 2500 to 7000 students, requiring the appointment of many new staff and the construction of many buildings. However, he also had to oversee the first closure of an English university department, the Department of Mining. His office covered the centenary celebration of the University in 1955, including a visit by queen
Elizabeth II. He retired from this position in 1965, and was honoured by being given the
Freedom of the City of Sheffield. In retirement he expanded his other interests in art and archeology, collecting watercolours and Persian antiques. He died 29 January 1984. ==Family==