William Whitaker was born on May 4, 1836, in London, England.

He was a British geologist and bibliographer. He graduated from University College, London (B.A., 1855). Following a short period at the Geological Society, Whitaker joined the Geological Survey as an assistant geologist in 1857, being promoted to the geologist in 1863. In 1882, he became a district surveyor. In addition to his fieldwork, Whitaker meticulously compiled bibliographies on the geology of English counties and carefully collected details of wells and borings, which then appeared as appendices to official publications. He has been described as the father of English hydrogeology. Whitaker worked as Geological Survey’s consultant until his death in 1925. He was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society in 1859, was awarded its Murchison medal (1886), Prestwich medal (1906), and Wollaston medal (1923), and served as its president (1898–1900). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1887 and served on its council (1907–1909). He became an honorary member of the Geologists' Association in 1875, served two terms as president (1900–1902, 1920–22), and led fifty-two excursions. Whitaker was a member of the Belgian, Liverpool, Manchester, Norwich, and Yorkshire geological societies, the Hampshire Literary and Philosophical Society, Hampshire Field Club, and Hertfordshire Natural History Society.

In 1869, he married Mary Keough (1847–1925). He died on January 15, 1925, in Croydon, Surrey, England.