Does MPHS have photographs: Yes
Address in Mount Prospect: 4 S. Edward Street
Birth Date: August 1, 1900
Death Date: November 10, 1969
Marriage
Date:
Spouse: Irma (Thill) Whittenberg
Children: Arlene
Interesting information on life, career, accomplishments
George Whittenberg was the second police officer in Mount Prospect and the second Chief of Police. He was hired by William Mulso, Mount Prospect’s first Police Chief, who was also the entire police force from 1924 until he hired Whittenberg in 1932. Five years later Whittenberg became the chief of police, a position he held until he retired. Whittenberg was originally hired, in part, because he could ride a motorcycle and the police department had one motorcycle and one 1929 Pontiac. George Whittenberg served on the Mount Prospect Police Department for 33 years, and was the Chief of Police for most of that time. He resigned his post in 1965, having seen the community change dramatically during his tenure. When he took the job, there were no paved roads and the population was about 1200. By the time he retired, the population was over 25,000, Mount Prospect was twice as large, and the police force had grown from two officers to close to thirty. Four years after he retired, he died. His funeral procession included fifty cars that passed by the Police Station one last time. Whittenberg was a long time member of the Mount Prospect Lions Club, and following his death, the Lions donated $6000 to the village to erect a memorial. In 1975 the village built a waterfall and fountain at the base of the water tower, as a memorial to his years of service. The memorial stood very close to the police station in which Whittenberg had spent so much time, but was later demolished.