 He was born in 1914 in Chicago, a son of Leona and William Francis Whitman, Sr.. His father owned a printing company in Chicago and later developed real estate in Miami, Florida.He sailed to Tahiti, and was fascinated by the tropical fruits.Whitman was one of the founders of The Rare Fruit Council International, then known as The Rare Fruit Council, A Tropical Study Group, based in Miami, and was its first president, from 1955 to 1960.