dentist, politician, professor, b. Mt. Horeb. He graduated from Northwestern Business College, Madison (1887), Valparaiso Univ., Ind. (B.S., 1894), and Chicago Dental School (D.D.S., 1897). A Progressive Republican, he was state assemblyman (1903-1906), state senator (1909-1912), and Wisconsin secretary of state (1913-1917). While in government, Donald was active in the campaign for pure food legislation, improved highways, and better educational facilities. During World War I he served with the YMCA in France (1918-1919). Returning to Wisconsin, he was appointed assistant professor of agricultural economics (1920) at the Univ. of Wisconsin, and held this position until his death. In this capacity he was noted for developing a widely used system of farm accounting. Donald was prominently associated with the Forest of Fame at Mount Vernon, Wis., and the Friends of Our Native Landscape. Madison Capital Times, Jan. 10, 1934; Wis. Blue Book (1915); J. S. Donald Papers.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the John Sweet Donald Papers for details.

View newspaper clippings at Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles.

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[Source: Blue book]