He was educated at St Albans School and University College, London, where he attained a degree in chemistry in 1855.

His thorough research, wide knowledge, and his numerous publications, especially his book "The Geology of London and of Part of the Thames Valley" (1889) has led some to call him “the father of English hydrogeology”.

The long lines of escarpment which stretch across several parts of England were formerly considered to be undoubtedly ancient coast-lines; but now we know that they stand up above the general surface merely from resisting air, rain and frost better than the adjoining formations.

It has rarely been the good fortune of a geologist to bring conviction to the minds of his fellow-workers on a disputed point by a single memoir; but Mr. Whitaker, of the Geological Survey of England, was so fortunate when, in 1867, he published his paper "On sub-aerial Denudation, and on Cliffs and Escarpments of the Chalk."

[3] Oxford Dictionary of National Bibliography This article about an English scientist is a stub.