Edwin C Whitehead

SECTIONS SEARCH SKIP TO CONTENTSKIP TO SITE INDEXNEW YORK PLAY THE CROSSWORD Account NEW YORK | Edwin C. Whitehead, 72, Dies; Financed Biomedical Research ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story Edwin C. Whitehead, 72, Dies; Financed Biomedical Research By Kathleen Teltsch Feb. 4, 1992 Credit...The New York Times Archives See the article in its original context from February 4, 1992, Section A, Page 18Buy Reprints VIEW ON TIMESMACHINE TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. About the Archive This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Edwin C. Whitehead, an industrialist who was a major supporter of biomedical research, collapsed and died on Sunday while playing squash at his home in Greenwich, Conn. He was 72 years old and also had homes in Manhattan and in Vail, Colo. He died of a heart attack, his family said. The philanthropist made a fortune developing scientific and clinical equipment and then devoted a substantial share to philanthropy, in particular the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, which borders the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He approached sports and business with an undiminished intensity. At the time of his death, he was president of Whitehead/Sterling, a Stamford-based investment firm. "It's easier to make $100 million than to give it away," he said in an interview in 1984 after two experiences in trying to establish institutes in biomedical research had stirred controversies in academic circles. Objections to Institute ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story Establishment of the Whitehead Institute, now deemed one of the world's top biomedical research institutions, was approved by the M.I.T. corporation in 1981. But agreement was reached only after months of negotiating during which some faculty members questioned the terms of the Institute's affiliation with M.I.T., fearing acceptance could impinge on academic independence. Objections were resolved and the institute began operating provisionally in 1982 and moved into a new building in 1984, financed by Mr. Whitehead. Gift Subscriptions to The Times, Cooking and Games. Starting at $25. The Whitehead gifts toward the undertaking make it one of the largest in history from a private donor. He gave $7.5 million initially, $35 million to build and equip the Institute, and pledged $100 million annually, with $5 million to be given yearly and the balance from a trust after his death. COOKING: Daily inspiration, delicious recipes and other updates from Sam Sifton and NYT Cooking. Sign Up In an earlier attempt, he had tried to create a biomedical research institute at Duke University which accepted the offer initially but because terms could not be worked out, the plans were dropped. Mr. Whitehead did, however, create a $10 million trust for Duke for the benefit of young scientists. When the Whitehead Institute at M.I.T. finally was assured, he called it the culmination of 10 years of effort. David Baltimore, the Nobel laureate who was the institute's first director, lauded the contributions made by Mr. Whitehead, who was known as Jack. 'A Major Contribution' ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story "Jack was an extraordinary man who started with little, built an enormous fortune and then dedicated himself to using it in an imaginative and personal way that made a major contribution to biomedical research," Dr. Baltimore said. Mr. Whitehead's career began modestly. Starting with a $5,000 loan in 1939 and a one-room office in the Bronx, he and his father created a company called Technicon, manufacturing laboratory equipment. The company's business took off when Mr. Whitehead teamed with a Cleveland pathologist, Dr. Leonard Skeggs, who had developed an automatic blood-analysis machine which improved diagnostic procedures. Mr. Whitehead sold Technicon to Revlon in May 1980 for $400 million and created his investment firm. His gifts to biomedical research, he often said, were an effort to return something to the well. He also made it a habit to castigate corporate leaders for inadequate support of scientific research and education. Once at a luncheon with businessmen, he found himself next to John D. Rockefeller 3d and complained that he regarded corporate giving as "a pimple on a watermelon." Mr. Rockefeller invited him to drop in for a serious talk. Although biomedicine was his overwhelming interest, his philanthropy ranged broadly and included Research America, a Washington-based organization promoting public support for biomedical research, New York University and the Hastings Center where scientists and scholars mull over the ethical problems that have emerged with the development of biomedical research. His most significant contribution, he said, was the concept behind the Whitehead Institute -- that a privately endowed center operating independently in the heart of a university could become a model for other such ventures, compensating somewhat for the reduction in government support of research and education. He was married four times. Three of his marriages, which ended in divorce, were to Constance Stein, Josephine Cook and Rosalind Hawley. His third wife, Elizabeth Jones, died in 1983. He is survived by two sons, John, of Dunwoody, Ga., and Peter, of New York City; a daughter, Susan Whitehead Sayare of Wellesley, Mass., and six stepchildren. A version of this article appears in print on Feb. 4, 1992, Section A, Page 18 of the National edition with the headline: Edwin C. Whitehead, 72, Dies; Financed Biomedical Research. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe Trending Christoph Niemann Seriously? He Gets an Early Vaccine? Dec. 31, 2020 Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany in “WandaVision.” Marvel Studios/Disney The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming to Amazon, HBO Max, Hulu and More in January Dec. 31, 2020 General Electric’s Haliade-X wind turbine at Rotterdam Harbor in the Netherlands. Ilvy Njiokiktjien for The New York Times A Monster Wind Turbine Is Upending an Industry 8h ago Illustration by The New York Times Michelle Cottle Opinion: The 2020 High School Yearbook of Donald J. Trump Dec. 30, 2020 ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story Tell us about yourself. 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