John Whitman

John Russell Whitman (June 8, 1944 – July 2, 2015) was an American businessman and investment banker who served as first gentleman of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001, as the husband of Governor Christine Todd Whitman. Whitman worked in the fields of banking and financial services. He had a brother (Charles S. Whitman, III) and a sister (Janet Whitman).

During his wife's term as Governor of New Jersey, Whitman held no official role in her administration. He was appointed by his wife as co-chairman of the New Jersey World Cup Host Committee in 1994. He also mediated the 1995 negotiations between the New Jersey Devils and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority that kept the Devils from moving to Nashville, Tennessee. In 1997, Whitman was appointed by his wife to head the fund raising committee to restore the dome of the New Jersey State House.

Personal life Whitman had met his future wife before they went on their first date, which occurred in 1973 at President Richard M. Nixon's inaugural ball. He died in a hospital at Morristown, New Jersey, on July 2, 2015, at the age of 71.