Donlon, Mary Honor, 1893-1977

Lawyer; U.S. Customs Court Judge; trustee, Cornell University. Cornell alumna (LL.B. 1920).

Mary Honor Donlon, later Mary Donlon Alger, (August 25, 1893 – March 5, 1977) was a judge of the United States Customs Court.

Education and career
Donlon was born on August 25, 1893, in Utica, New York,[1] the daughter of Joseph M. Donlon and Mary (Coughlin) Donlon. She graduated from Cornell Law School, receiving a Bachelor of Laws in 1920. She worked in private practice in New York City from 1921 to 1944.[1] She was Chairman of the New York State Industrial Board from 1945 to 1946.[1] She was Chairman of the New York State Workers Compensation Board from 1945 to 1954.[1] In 1947, she served on the Federal Social Security Advisory Council.

Political career
In 1940, she ran on the Republican ticket for an at-large seat in the United States House of Representatives but lost to the Democratic incumbent Caroline Love Goodwin O'Day. She was a delegate to the 1948 Republican National Convention.

Federal judicial serviceDonlon was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on June 22, 1955, to a seat on the United States Customs Court vacated by Judge Genevieve R. Cline. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 29, 1955, and received her commission on August 1, 1955. Donlon was initially appointed as a Judge under Article I, but the court was raised to Article III status by operation of law on July 14, 1956, and Donlon thereafter served as an Article III Judge. She assumed senior status on October 1, 1966. Her service terminated on March 5, 1977, due to her death. She was succeeded by Judge Bernard Newman.[1]In 1971, Donlon married Martin J. Alger.[2] She died at the Tucson Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona on March 5, 1977, after a brief illness.[2]