Quick Facts
CancerBiography
William Everett Potter (July 17, 1905 – December 5, 1988) was Governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1956 to 1960.
Biography
He was born on July 17, 1905 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1928. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1933 with a degree in civil engineering. He served as Governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1956 to 1960.
On July 7, 1959, Mr. Potter appeared as a guest challenger on the TV panel show To Tell The Truth.
He died of heart failure on December 5, 1988 at the Regional Medical Center in Orlando, Florida.
The Walt Disney Company
Potter played a key role in the construction of Walt Disney World. He is credited with helping to build much of the underground utilities (such as power and water treatment) and other infrastructure. Potter met Walt Disney at the New York World's Fair. He became a Disney Legend in 1997. One of the three Ferries that transports guests across the Seven Seas Lagoon was re-christened in his honor.