William Henry Donner (1864–1953) was an American businessman and philanthropist, who built a fortune in tin plate and steel. Born inColumbus, Indiana, he graduated fromHanover College in 1887. His academic philanthropy led to the creation of the five chairs and the title of Donner Professor.
Early in adulthood, Donner managed the family-owned grain mill, and in his twenties invested in Indiana natural gas and real estate. He founded the National Tin Plate Company, originally based inNorth Anderson, Indiana, and obtained a patent for an innovation in tin plate rolling processes.[1]
Donner then shifted his energies from Indiana to theMonongahela Valley of southwestern Pennsylvania. In 1897, National Tin Plate was the first employer in the newly created community ofMonessen, Pennsylvania.[2] The town's main street was named "Donner Avenue" in his honor.
Donner then sold his company and used the proceeds to create Union Steel Company (laterAmerican Steel and Wire Company), in the new community ofDonora, Pennsylvania, in 1899–1900. The "Don" in "Donora" was in recognition of William Donner's key role in the founding of that community.[2] In creating Union Steel Company, Donner received financial backing fromHenry Clay Frick,Andrew W. Mellon, andRichard B. Mellon, in addition to Donner's own funds.[1] The town was the site of theDonora Smog of 1948.
After selling his Donora-based company in 1903, Donner became president of Cambria Steel Company and served as chairman of the board of the Pennsylvania Steel Company. Near the end of his career, he created theBuffalo-based Donner Steel Company, which he sold in 1929.[2]
In 1914, a new cargo ship (at 524 feet long and 9,600 tons one of the largest on theGreat Lakes at the time), theWilliam H. Donner, was named in his honor at theGreat Lakes Engineering Works and shipyard inAshtabula,Ohio. Still holding the name, it had functioned since 1969 as a stationary crane ship and cargo transfer hull inMarinette, Wisconsin. It was owned byK.K. Integrated Logistics. Her final retirement came in 2015; as of March, 2016, the 102-year-old vessel had been moved and is now in theMenominee river on theMichigan side awaiting scrapping. The ship's pilot house and superstructure had been removed several years earlier.
Donner's son, Joseph, died in 1929, from cancer. In 1932, Donner turned his attention to philanthropy, with a special interest in cancer research.[1] He founded two notable foundations that are still in operation today, the William H. Donner Foundation in the United States, and the Donner Canadian Foundation in Canada.
William H. Donner died in Montreal in 1953.
The Donner Center was donated to the City of Columbus, Indiana, in 1947 by William H. Donner, and sits in Donner Park, Columbus' oldest park. For 70 years, the Columbus Parks and Recreation administrative facility has served as the home for youth and adult programs, community events, family reunions, wedding receptions and meeting space for community clubs and local businesses.
In 1958, the William H. Donner Foundation used $2.5 million to fund fivechairs in science atMIT,Harvard,Yale,Princeton and theUniversity of Pennsylvania thus creating the title of Donner Professor.[3] The Donner Building was funded by W H Donner kin 1947-48 for medical research at McGill University. It is now part of the Dentistry faculty. Mr Donner died in Montreal in 1953.
The Donner Canadian Foundation was established in 1950, and for 43 years was a typical, uncontroversial Canadian charitable fund.[4]
In 1993, theconservative American Donner heirs who control the foundation changed its primary focus to that of supporting conservative research.[4]
From 1993 to 1999, under the leadership of executive directors Devon Gaffney Cross and then Patrick Luciani, the foundation provided the seed money to start several conservative Canadianthink-tanks and publications, and became the "lifeblood of conservative research" in Canada.[4][5][6][7]
In 1999, the American Donner heirs who control the foundation began donating more of its money to land and wildlife conservation, international development, medical research, and the arts, reducing funding of conservative research.[citation needed]
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