Born on a farm near Xenia, Ohio, Reid attended Xenia Academy and went on to graduate from Miami University with honors in 1856.1 At Miami, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon, and lobbied for the expulsion of the six members who ultimately went on to found Sigma Chi.
In 1892, Benjamin Harrison and Whitelaw Reid formed the only U.S. presidential ticket composed of candidates that were also alumni of the same university, Miami University. Both men had buildings on Miami's campus named for them. Reid Hall was a dormitory, while Harrison Hall still houses the Political Science department. Reid Hall was demolished in 2006 to make way for a new business school building on Miami University's campus.
He gave a highly commendatory eulogy to Benjamin Piatt Runkle—a fellow DKE before founding Sigma Chi— after seeing Runkle wounded at the Battle of Shiloh and mistakenly thinking him dead. Runkle returned the favor upon Reid's death.
