William Donner
American steel magnate (1864–1953)
William Henry Donner (May 21, 1864 – November 3, 1953) was an American businessman and philanthropist, who built a fortune in tin plate and steel. His father was an immigrant from Germany. He graduated from Hanover College in 1887. His academic philanthropy led to the creation of the five chairs and the title of Donner Professor.
Early life and career
Donner was born in Columbus, Indiana. Early in adulthood, he 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 in North Anderson, Indiana, and obtained a patent for an innovation in tin plate rolling processes.
Donner then shifted his energies from Indiana to the Monongahela Valley of southwestern Pennsylvania. In 1897, National Tin Plate was the first employer in the newly created community of Monessen, Pennsylvania. The town's main street was named "Donner Avenue" in his honor.
“William Donner” enters the record as american steel magnate (1864–1953). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what William, Donner and American can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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This entry incorporates text from “William Donner” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.