Gilbert Fowler White was a prominent American geographer, sometimes termed the "father of floodplain management" and the "leading environmental geographer of the 20th century". White is known predominantly for his work on natural hazards, particularly flooding, and the importance of sound water management in contemporary society. Gilbert Fowler White was born November 26, 1911 in Hyde Park, Illinois. From 1946 to 1955 he was President of Haverford College. He then returned to Chicago as a Professor of Geography, where he was the central figure in the "Chicago school" of natural hazards research. In 1970, he moved to the University of Colorado, before retiring after ten years there. Having published his first paper in 1935, he was still publishing into his 90s.

White won the Association of American Geographers’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002 and in 2000 received the nation’s highest scientific honor, the National Medal of Science, and the National Academy of Sciences’ highest honor, the Public Welfare Medal. Other awards and honors included the 1995 Volvo Environmental prize, the 1987 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, and eight honorary degrees. He was member of the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Cosmos Club.