Eli Whitney-Smith PhD

Eli Whitney-Smith: - Theorist, Archaeologist, Academic, Consultant,  and Unsung Hero of the Eli Whitney namesake
Eli Whitney-Smith was a great American. Her first job was blazing trails (and highways) as the only female interstate bus driver in the NY/NJ/CT region. Later she studied archeology at UMaine-Orono before transferring to San Jose State University and was matriculated into the prestigious Cybernetic Systems Program. There she formulated the I- and M- adaptation theory:
"people in groups use two basic survival strategies:

1. 
   Hunter/gatherers are Information- or I-adapted. For them, survival depends on information, i.e. knowing where plants and animals are. They perceive a world of plenty, sharing material goods in order tocreate networks of relationships and information.
2. People since the invention of agriculture are Material goods- or M-adapted. For them, survival depends on possession and manipulation of material goods. They perceive a world of scarcity, using information to gain increasing amounts of material goods."

How cool is that. Eli subsequently pursued two degrees related to her theory. Currently she is a high profile consultant in IT and organizational change.

Read more about her at her homepage 

Eli Whitney - Modern Day Strongman

Eli Whitney of Hercules, CA is a mountain of a man. Hailing from arguably the toughest and most heroic town in all of Northern California, Whitney stands tall in the face of danger. On the other hand, our hero, may also suffer from some side effects of heavy metal poisoning from the well known soil contamination of the town, due to high-polluting smokestacks from the once thriving explosives industry located there. Hopefully this is not the case, it would be a shame to have a Bizarro Hercules running around.  Bizarro was a pretty creepy dude.





Perhaps what actually happened was that all the heavy metals in the soil just gave Whitney super strength, and took him from Zero to Hero:




While he may not have myths written about him, it is a well known fact in California, that Eli Whitney, of Hercules, once defeated the Tennessee Titans singlehandedly in a bar fight. That's a pretty impressive feat.

Eli Whitney Debevoise II

Eli Whitney Debevoise II - US Executive Director of the World Bank.
From his Wikipedia Page: "Eli Whitney Debevoise II is the U.S. Executive Director of the World Bank Group. Prior to his appointment on April 6, 2007, he served as Commissioner for the Maryland Port Commission in Baltimore.[1]"
He, like Eli Whitney before him attended Yale university, and later, unlike the original Eli Whitney, went on for a prestigious law degree from Harvard University. Eli Whitney Debevoise II, graduated Summa Cum Laude from Yale, proving that he is more than just a name! Eli Whitney Debevoise II, is recognized as a "Super Lawyer" according to superlawyers.com.  He also speaks four languages, this is likely the reason why he was tapped to participate in shaping policy towards Brazil.  Here is a relationship map about him from Muckety, I honestly have no idea what this means. A consummate professional in all aspects of his life, Whitney Debevoise brings honor to the Eli Whitney Name, not surprising since he is the original Eli Whitney's great, great grandson. Check out his statement before congress in 2007. Eli Whitney Debevoise II was also instrumental in shaping US policy, towards Brazil. Here is Whitney Debevoise Lookin' sharp with his wife.

Eli Whitney - Equalizer, Man of Mystery

A very mysterious Eli Whitney exists out there; one who's only public information is that he is in the business of equalizing. The first question that obviously comes to mind is "what kind of equalizer is this modern Eli Whitney?" There are many historical examples which may give us insight into this question. He are three radically different equalizers that may or may not be similar to the Eli Whitney who's Zoominfo profile is private.

1. One of the first equalizers to come to mind was Robin Hood, who along with his band of thieves equalized by stealing from the rich and redistributing wealth to the poor and downtrodden: Although Robin Hood, may be more legend than historical figure, he did give us a good model of the type of hero modern Eli Whitney might have been.
2.  Another, more infamous equalizer was Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Lenin was the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution, and was arguably the driving force behind the rise of the Soviet Union. Lenin also loved to party as was evidenced by his constant decrees that Soviets must "support the party." Here is a song that Lenin would probably rave out to if he was alive today.  
3.  A third, revered equalizer was Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela spent 26 years in prison, standing up for his beliefs and was the most powerful symbol of the anti-apartheid movement. Mandela, upon release, became the first democratically elected president of South Africa, ushering in a new era of equality.

Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin - Band

Another band named Eli Whitney. This one, like the band from San Jose is also defunct. But at least their story isn't as rife with tragedy. You can check out their music on their myspace page. Some of their music even seems inspired by the ever-unpopular "math-rock" other is much more lyrically driven and emotional, awww. Their band was torn apart when a character named "Ryan," selfishly decided to give up. Ryan could take a lesson from some other Eli Whitneys. Did Eli Whitney Debevoise II give up when the world plunged into financial crisis? Did Dr. Eli Whitney give up on his patients when the insurance company gave him a hard time? I don't gosh-darn think so!!! From all of us at The Unsung Eli Whitney Project, Ryan, we think you made a mistake!

Here is a video of one of the band member's younger brothers playing Halo to one of their sweet jams (it was probably Ryan's brother, because everyone seems to hate the video):
 

Eli Whitney - Supporting the Process

So I had to look up what a Process support manager does. I'm still unsure, but it seems like it has a lot to do with engineering and logistics. This seems like it could be a very intense job, especially when you are a process support manager for a company specializing in natural gas compression, like Exterran. Our Eli, right now is in the United Arab Emirates, working to ensure our ability to harvest energy from the earth to power hospitals and orphanages. That is why Eli Whitney of Exterran is a lifesaving hero in our hearts and on our blog. Hopefully the company will let him don a cape or other superhero accoutrement soon.   Eli, if you stumble across this post, please post a comment to let us know what a process support manager actually is.

Eli Whitney Debevoise

Eli Whitney Debevoise - Lawyer, Philanthropist
Eli Whitney Debevoise, born in 1899, was the great great grandson of the Eli Whitney. Eli Whitney Debevoise passed away in 1990, at the ripe old age of 90 years old; his obituary was printed in the New York Times. He was a graduate of Yale and Harvard law. Debevoise started his career in the army and eventually gained the rank of second Lieutenant. In 1931 he founded Debevoise & Stevenson law firm with a partner, which eventually became the high-profile Debevoise & Plimpton LLP of today.
 From SourceWatch: "Mr. Debevoise served as Deputy United States High Commissioner for Germany from 1951 to 1953, one of the top positions with the Allied Commission that administered Germany's affairs in the years immediately following World War II.
In 1959, Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller named Mr. Debevoise chairman of the New York State Task Force on Youth and Juvenile Delinquency, which was mandated to carry out a six-point program that included developing work camps for troubled youngsters.... Debevoise was also active in many charities, serving as president of the New York Association for the Blind, chairman of the Russell Sage Foundation, as a trustee of Rockefeller University and a trustee of the American Geographical Society." Also, look at these papers on record at Amherst college that  document his position as the deputy general counsel with the High Commission for Germany-Office of General Counsel (HICOG-OGC) from 1950-1953.

The Eli Whitney Project

Recently I came across a post on Reddit.com where someone named KarmaAunt (not to be confused with Karmanaut) wrote how he or she was excited by the fact that the person who replaced Paul Wolfowitz at the World Bank was a person named Eli Whitney Debevoise II, due to the fact that Eli Whitney was such a common answer so exams during his or her youth. After posting a comment pretending to be the person in question, I realized that discovering novel people named Eli Whitney is an endeavor one can be proud of. Thus the Eli Whitney Project was born.  Every so often I will bring to your awareness a notable person who shares the Eli Whitney namesake. Surely there are other great people living in the shadow of the Cotton Gin King who deserve recognition for their own exciting accomplishments.