William Frederick Whitcher was born on August 10, 1845, in Benton, Grafton, New Hampshire.

He was a clergyman and journalist. He graduated from Conference Seminary, Tilton, Wesleyan University, Connecticut in 1871, and the Theological Department of Boston University in 1873. For nine years he was a member of the Southern New England Methodist Episcopal Conference. He held pastorates in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, and New Bedford, Massachusetts. Abandoning the ministry, Whitcher was for eighteen years engaged in journalistic work in Boston, as a reporter and editor, first with the Boston Traveler and later with the Boston Advertiser. In 1898, he moved to Woodsville and purchased the Woodsville News. He was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives (1901, 1903, 1905, 1907, 1911) and the Judiciary Committee. He also served as a trustee of the New Hampshire State Library, director, and clerk of trustees of Woodsville Savings Bank. He was deeply interested in historical matters and published several books, e.g., "Wells River Bridge and Other Haverhill Toll Bridges" (1904), "Some Things about Coventry-Benton, New Hampshire" (1905), and "History of the Town of Haverhill, New Hampshire" (1919).

In 1872, he married Jeanette Maria Burr (1845–1894), and in 1896, he remarried Marietta Amanda Hadley (1858–1930). He died on May 31, 1918, in Woodsville, Grafton, New Hampshire.

William Whitaker was born on May 4, 1836, in London, England.

He was a British geologist and bibliographer. He graduated from University College, London (B.A., 1855). Following a short period at the Geological Society, Whitaker joined the Geological Survey as an assistant geologist in 1857, being promoted to the geologist in 1863. In 1882, he became a district surveyor. In addition to his fieldwork, Whitaker meticulously compiled bibliographies on the geology of English counties and carefully collected details of wells and borings, which then appeared as appendices to official publications. He has been described as the father of English hydrogeology. Whitaker worked as Geological Survey’s consultant until his death in 1925. He was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society in 1859, was awarded its Murchison medal (1886), Prestwich medal (1906), and Wollaston medal (1923), and served as its president (1898–1900). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1887 and served on its council (1907–1909). He became an honorary member of the Geologists' Association in 1875, served two terms as president (1900–1902, 1920–22), and led fifty-two excursions. Whitaker was a member of the Belgian, Liverpool, Manchester, Norwich, and Yorkshire geological societies, the Hampshire Literary and Philosophical Society, Hampshire Field Club, and Hertfordshire Natural History Society.

In 1869, he married Mary Keough (1847–1925). He died on January 15, 1925, in Croydon, Surrey, England.

George Matthew Whipple was born on September 15, 1842, in Teddington, Middlesex, England.

He was a British physicist. He was educated at King's College, London (B.Sc., 1871). Whipple joined the staff of Kew Observatory in 1858, becoming a magnetic assistant in 1862, chief assistant in 1863, and superintendent in 1876. Between 1873 and 1888, he undertook a series of pendulum experiments to determine the constant of gravitation. Wind pressure and velocity were his lifelong study. He joined the Meteorological Society (later the Royal Meteorological Society) in 1874, served on its council (1876–1887) and acted as its foreign secretary (1884–1885). Whipple was on the council of the Physical Society of London and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1872. He was an assistant examiner in natural philosophy at the University of London (1876–1881) and the Department of Science and Art, South Kensington (1879–1882, 1884–1889). He contributed articles to scientific journals, especially the Quarterly Journal of the Meteorological Society. Whipple compiled the "Report on the Eruption of Krakatoa" published by the Royal Society in 1888.

In 1870, he married Elizabeth Beckley (1847–1927). He died on February 8, 1893, in Richmond, Surrey, England.