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No Strikes for Mr. Donner — The Battle of Virden
This is the second of a three-part series covering devastating strikes of the 1890s, strikes that surely helped cement anti-unionism in Donora’s founder, William Donner.
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No Strikes for Mr. Donner — The Pullman Strike
This is the second of a three-part series covering devastating strikes of the 1890s, strikes that surely helped…
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No Strikes for Mr. Donner — The Homestead Strike
William Donner, the founder of Donora, never liked unions. He was a businessman seeking ever-increasing profits, and unions tended to cut into them. Donner had grown into his wealth during a time of…
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Founder of Donora Biked ‘High’
Who was Prince Wells, and how did he get the great William Donner so blinkin’ high? William Henry Donner, founder of Donora, was an astute, no-nonsense businessman. He became business partners with some of the wealthiest men in history, including Henry Clay Frick and the Mellon brothers, Andrew and Thomas, owners of US Steel. He…
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The Carnegie-Donora Connection, Part 2: Donner Vertically Integrates Donora Mills
The second part of two posts linking Donora’s founder with the industrial titan Andrew Carnegie.
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The Carnegie-Donora Connection, Part 1: Frick Shows Carnegie Value of Vertical Integration
William Henry Donner, founder of Donora, was never a titan in the mold of Rockefeller, Carnegie, or the Mellon brothers were, but he learned a great deal from them all. Including how to build his mills in Donora.
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A Lesson in Negotiating
Donora, Pennsylvania, would likely not exist today if town founder William H. Donner hadn’t finally persuaded Margaret Heslep, a surprisingly crafty negotiator, to sell her land.
