George Meason Whicher was born in Muscatine, Iowa in 1860 and graduated from Iowa College (later known as Grinnell College) in 1882. He studied at Johns Hopkins University, 1884-1885, and earned his A.M. from Iowa College in 1885. He held the following academic appointments: Professor of Greek and German, Hastings College (Nebraska), 1883-1888; principal, Iowa College Academy (Iowa College's prep school), 1888-1889; Classical Master, Lawrenceville Academy for Boys (New Jersey), 1889-1892; Professor of Greek and Latin, Packer Collegiate Institute (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 1892-ca. 1900; Professor of Classics and Archaelogy and head of the Greek and Latin Department, Hunter College (New York, N.Y.), ca. 1900-1924. He also spent one year as the director of the Classical School in Rome and published several books of poetry. In 1887 he married Lillian Hope Frisbie, the daughter of Alvah Lillie Frisbie (AC 1857). Mr. and Mrs. Whicher moved to Amherst after his retirement from Hunter College. George and Lillian's son, George Frisbie Whicher (AC 1910; 1889-1954) was professor of English at Amherst from 1915 to 1954.
From the guide to the Whicher Family Papers, 1874-1949, (Amherst College Archives and Special Collections)
