Early Years
Born in New York City, he was the eldest son of the very wealthy businessman and United States Secretary of the Navy, William C. Whitney and brother to William Payne Whitney.
Harry Payne Whitney studied at Groton School in Groton, Massachusetts then attended Yale University, graduating with a law degree in 1894. He was a member of the Skull and Bones.
In 1904, H. P. Whitney inherited $24,000,000 from his father and in 1917 approximately $12,000,000 from his uncle, Oliver Hazard Payne. On August 25, 1896 he married Gertrude Vanderbilt, a member of the wealthy Vanderbilt family with whom he had three children: Flora Payne Whitney (1897), Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (1899), and Barbara Whitney (1903).
Read more about this topic: Harry Payne Whitney
Famous quotes related to early years:
“I believe that if we are to survive as a planet, we must teach this next generation to handle their own conflicts assertively and nonviolently. If in their early years our children learn to listen to all sides of the story, use their heads and then their mouths, and come up with a plan and share, then, when they become our leaders, and some of them will, they will have the tools to handle global problems and conflict.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)