Having obtained his MA at Princeton U, Whitney spent much of the Second World War teaching navigation to newly commissioned officers. After the war he obtained his doctorate at OSU under the supervision of Henry Mann. The subject of his research was the non-parametric Mann–Whitney test (published in 1947). Whitney remained at OSU throughout his career, retiring in 1982.

http://kb.osu.edu/dspace/handle/1811/24142 Biography and interview.