Ben Scott Whaley was born on Edisto Island in 1909. He received an A.B. from The Citadel and an LL.B. from USC School and a Doctor of Laws from the Citadel. He was a member of the S.C. House of Representatives (1930–33). He served as Assistant U.S. Attorney (1937–47) and as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of South Carolina (1947–54).
He was a member of the S.C. (President — 1967), Federal, American, and Charleston County Bar Associations, and the Judicial Council for the Fourth Judicial Circuit; a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the American College of Trial Lawyers.
He was a member of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. He married Emily Fishburne Whaley, and had three daughters, Emily Whaley Whipple, Anne Whaley LeClercq and Martha Whaley Allen.
A civic minded lawyer for over 50 years.