Dickinson, Donald McDonald, 1846-1917

Lawyer and U.S. postmaster general.

Donald McDonald Dickinson was born in New York on Jan. 17, 1846. He moved with his family to Mich. at the age of two. He was raised and educated in Detroit. In 1867, he received a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Michigan and went into practice in Detroit that same year. He married Frances Platt on June 15, 1869. In 1872, he began his long and active participation in the Michigan Democratic party. Dickinson was considered one of the foremost Michigan Democratic leaders. During Grover Cleveland's first term as President, Dickinson served as an advisor to Cleveland and was appointed Postmaster General. Dickinson was one of the leaders in Cleveland's 1892 campaign and lead the Michigan delegation at the 1892 Democratic National Convention. After Cleveland's re-election, Dickinson took a less active role in politics and turned his attention to his law practice. In 1896, Cleveland named Dickinson to represent the U.S. in a dispute with Great Britain over the seal industry in the Bering Sea. Dickinson fell ill with cancer in 1908, but continued to practice law until 1912. From then until his death on Oct. 15, 1917, he lived a secluded life in his home in Trenton, Mich.

Lawyer and U.S. Postmaster General in the Grover Cleveland administration.