Edward Foss Wilson was born on January 6, 1905. He attended Lawrenceville School in New Jersey from 1921 to 1922, and graduated from Princeton University in 1926.
Following a year of travel, Edward entered the family business in 1927. In 1934 he was named President of Wilson & Co., becoming Chairman of the Board in 1953.
He married Pauline Dorthea Wyman on June 2, 1940, and they had two sons: Edward Thomas Wilson and Kendall Wyman Wilson.
In 1957, Edward Foss Wilson was appointed Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare. He served in this post until 1961.
Edward Foss Wilson was active on the boards of the American Red Cross, the Boy Scouts of America, the YMCA, the Washington Heart Association, and the National Presbyterian Church. He served on the Advisory Boards of the Johns Hopkins University School of International Studies and the National Development Council for Johns Hopkins Medicine. He was a Trustee of Rush Presbyterian- St. Luke's Hospital (now Rush University Medical Center), President of the Illinois Division of the American Cancer Society, and Vice-President of the United Nations Association, Capital Area Division.
Following Pauline Wyman Wilson's death in 1985, Edward married Frances Wilmer in 1988.
Edward Foss Wilson died of cancer on March 19, 1994.
Photographic portrait of Edward Foss Wilson, circa 1927-1934
Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 16, Folder 3, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Photograph by Tiffany Studios, Chicago.
Photograph of Edward Foss Wilson as child, circa 1909-1910
Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 16, Folder 2, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Edward Foss Wilson in cap and gown for his graduation from Princeton University, 1922.
Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 16, Folder 2, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Chicago Daily News clipping regarding Edward Foss Wilson's start in meat packing business, 1927
Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 12, Folder 3, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Edward Foss Wilson seated on fence at stock yards, 1927
Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 16, Folder 4, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Chicago Herald-Examiner clipping regarding Edward Foss Wilson's appointment as president of Wilson & Co., 1934.
Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 12, Folder 8, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Photograph of Thomas E. Wilson and Edward Foss Wilson when Edward was made president of Wilson & Co., 1934.
Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 28, Folder 9, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Edward Foss Wilson standing on sidewalk in front of window display for Frigorifico Wilson do Brasil retail meat market, Rua Ouvidor, Rio de Janero, 1938.
Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 17, Folder 3, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Edward Foss Wilson when he was Assistant Secretary of United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1957
Thomas E. Wilson Family Collection, Box 17, Folder 20, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Letter from University of Chicago Trustee Harold H. Swift congratulating Edward Foss Wilson on his appointment as Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1957
Harold Swift Papers, Box 111, Folder 18, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
In addition to being a devoted Trustee of the University of Chicago, Harold H. Swift was Chief Executive of a successful meatpacking business, Swift & Co., founded by his father, Gustavus F. Swift, in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Edward Foss Wilson's reply to Harold Swift's congratulatory letter, 1957
Harold Swift Papers, Box 111, Folder 18, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center