Samuel P. Whiting
- Position
- Electrician
- Years in President's House
- 1962 – 1992
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Biography
Samuel Purnell “Sam” Whiting was born on March 5, 1936, in Newport News, Virginia.1 He attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., and later served as an Airman 1st Class in the U.S. Air Force from 1955 to 1959.2
In 1962, he began working at the White House.3 For the next thirty years, Whiting worked as an electrician there, ensuring that lighting, power systems, and electrical equipment operated safely and efficiently in both public and private spaces.4 For example, each holiday season Whiting and his team installed tens of thousands of Christmas lights on holiday trees throughout the State Floor.5
Whiting retired from the White House in 1992.6 He passed away on February 19, 2018, and was buried at Maryland Veteran's Cemetery in Cheltenham, Maryland.7
- Samuel Purnell Whiting in U.S., Korean War Era Draft Cards, 1948-1959, National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 1926–1975; Record Group Number: 147; Series: Post-WWII through Vietnam Era Selective Service Records, District of Columbia; Series Number: 147-76-30, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62234/records/3778823.
- Ibid; Samuel Purnell Whiting in U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2020, U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs; United States; U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs Birls Death File, 1850-2022, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2441/records/32620794; “Samuel Pernell Whiting,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/188724058/samuel-pernell-whiting.
- White House Office of the Curator, e-mail message to author, March 16, 2026.
- Dictionary of Occupational Titles Vol. 1 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1965), 240.
- “The Working White House,” White House Historical Association, https://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/the-working-white-house-sam-whiting-photo-1.
- White House Office of the Curator, e-mail message to author, March 16, 2026.
- “Samuel P. Whiting,” Obituary, Legacy.com, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/samuel-whiting-obituary?id=1668120.
- Birthplace
- Newport News, Virginia, USA
- Maryland Veteran's Cemetery