Beaver Island ArchiveA primary-source archive & encyclopedia45°40′N 85°33′W · Lake Michigan
Colour scheme
Search

Person

Bill Whelan

Also Bill Whelan

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypePerson
Died1961-01-28
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Person
Died
1961-01-28 · Beaver Island
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
maritimetourismcommunity
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

Bill Whelan was named in the January 1961 report of a Yachtsman of the Year honor and a trophy from Chicago Mayor Daley. A Michigan City Yacht Club chronology records the death in 1961 of a Bill Whelan known in Chicago yachting.

Evidence and limits

The two sources align on name, year, and Chicago-yachting context, but neither supplies a fuller civil identity or an exact death date. The 1961 death year is therefore retained as probable rather than established.

The dated record

2 dated events · 1961–1961These years on the timeline →

Sources

  1. Calls Bill Whelan “King of all the Beavers,” reports a Yachtsman of the Year honor and a trophy from Chicago Mayor Daley, and says he promoted Beaver Island to visiting yachtsmen. It supplies no fuller civil identity.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1961-01_Beaver-Beacon
  2. The held five-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1961-01_Beaver-Beacon
  3. Its 1961 chronology says that Bill Whelan, a well-known and loved personality in Chicago yachting, died. The matching name, Chicago-yachting context, and year make this a probable identification with the Beaver Beacon subject, but the secondary club history supplies neither a fuller name nor an exact death date.

Added 1 August 2026 · revised 3 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Bill Whelan”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/bill-whelan/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, January 1961, “Hoy There! Come Aboard and Listen.” (and 2 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

BibTeX for “Bill Whelan”RIS for “Bill Whelan”