Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/220

198 of pharmacy, and in 1866 became professor of physiology and hygiene, and clinical professor of diseases of the throat and chest in the University of Maryland. He served as president of the medical and surgical faculty of the state of Maryland, and of the American climatological association. Dr. Donaldson published papers in the medical journals, principally upon diseases of the heart, lungs, and throat, and is the author of &ldquo;The Influence of City Life and Occupations in Developing Consumption&rdquo; (Cambridge, 1876).

DONALDSON, James Lowry, soldier, b. in Baltimore, Md., 17 March, 1814; d. there, 4 Nov., 1885. He was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1836, and became 2d lieutenant in the 3d artillery, serving in that capacity during the Florida war in 1836-'8. He was transferred to the 1st artillery in May, 1837, and became 1st lieutenant in July, 1838. Subsequently he was on garrison duty until 1846, when he was stationed at Fort Brown during the military occupation of Texas. During the Mexican war he participated in the battles of Monterey and Buena Vista, receiving the brevets of captain and major. He was appointed assistant quartermaster, with the rank of captain, in March, 1847, and was on duty as such in Coahuila, Mexico. Subsequent to the war he continued as quartermaster at various posts until he became chief quartermaster of the Department of New Mexico in 1858-'62. During the civil war he held a like office in Pittsburgh, Pa., with the 8th army corps in Baltimore, Md., and in the Department of the Cumberland. He was chief quartermaster of the military division of the Tennessee in June, 1865, and of the military division of the Missouri until 1869, when he was retired. Meanwhile he had attained the rank of colonel on the staff, and had received the brevet of major-general of volunteers. He resigned on 1 Jan., 1874. During his administration of the quartermaster's department of the division of the Tennessee, he became a favorite with Gen. George H. Thomas, to whom he suggested the creation of cemeteries for the scattered remains of soldiers who had fallen in battle, from which has resulted the annual Decoration day. Gen. Donaldson published &ldquo;Sergeant Atkins&rdquo; (Philadelphia, 1871), a tale of adventure founded on events that took place during the Florida war.

DONALDSON, Washington H., aeronaut, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1840; drowned in Lake Michigan, 15 July, 1875. He was one of those apt, energetic, restless individuals known as natural geniuses. He could do anything he undertook to do, and would undertake anything that came in his way. He had enough education for his wants, and an admirable physique, though a little short in stature. Gymnastics were as second nature to him, and there was little in this line in which he was not an expert. Amiability was a chief characteristic, which never failed to assert itself; his rare good humor and pleasant manners won him friends wherever he went, and there never was an aeronaut more popular than he. His early life was spent upon the stage as a gymnast, ventriloquist, and magician. He was a graceful tight-rope performer. In 1862 he walked across the Schuylkill river on a rope 1,200 feet long, returning to the middle and finishing by jumping into the river from a height of 90 feet. He also walked across the Genesee river at Rochester on a rope 1,800 feet long, recrossing it with a man in a wheelbarrow trundled in front of him. From 1857 till 1871 he travelled through the United States, appearing not fewer than 1,300 times in his various specialties. It happened, in a western city, that his host possessed a balloon, left with him for a debt, which he was anxious to sell. Donaldson proposed a trade; he would teach the landlord the mysteries of the black art and transfer to him all the paraphernalia of his exhibitions, which was done, and Donaldson found himself the owner of a balloon. Without the slightest previous knowledge of balloon management, he made arrangements for an ascension, taking his first lesson in a failure, which happened for want of lighter gas or a larger balloon, the latter being too small to carry him except with pure hydrogen. The balloon was enlarged and tried again with coal-gas, as in the previous instance; and this time, 30 Aug., 1871, it succeeded in getting off after Donaldson had thrown away every available thing, even his coat, boots, and hat. This ascent was made from Reading, Pa., and the descent 18 miles distant. Another ascent was made from Reading, in September, upon a trapeze-bar. On 18 Jan., 1872, he ascended from Norfolk, Va., and his balloon accidentally burst when a mile from the ground. He said of it: &ldquo;The balloon did not collapse, but closed up at the sides, and, swaying from side to side, descended with frightful velocity. I clung with all my strength to the hoop. I could not tell how badly I was frightened, but felt as though all my hair had been torn out. I scarcely had time to realize that I was alive, when, with a crash, I was projected with the velocity of a catapult into a burr-chestnut tree. The netting and rigging, catching in the tree, checked my velocity, but I had my grasp jerked loose, and was precipitated through the limbs and landed flat upon my back, with my tights nearly torn off, and my legs, arms, and body lacerated and bleeding.&rdquo; Shortly after this he ascended again from Norfolk, but on this occasion, in his haste to avoid being carried out to sea, his balloon was wrecked among the trees, although he himself escaped injury. He then undertook the construction of a balloon which he called the &ldquo;Magenta.&rdquo; It was made of fine jaconet, held about 10,000 cubic feet of gas, and weighed about 100 pounds. He made several ascensions with this balloon, two of which were from Chicago. On the first occasion he was carried out or Lake Michigan and dragged more than a mile through the water, bringing up against a stone pier finally with such violence as to render him insensible. On 17 May, 1873, he ascended from Reading, Pa., in a balloon made of manilla-paper enclosed with a light network, the whole weighing but 48 pounds, although it contained 14,000 cubic feet of gas. He travelled ten miles before landing. Donaldson was a convert to Wise's theory of a constant current blowing from west to east at a height of three miles, and, as the veteran aeronaut had said a balloon could cross the ocean in this current, Donaldson was ready to take the venture, and so announced his intention of making the attempt. Wise offered to join him, and they set out together to raise the necessary funds, they went to New York and opened a subscription, but while this was in progress the proprietors of the &ldquo;Daily Graphic&rdquo; offered to furnish the funds required for the construction of a very large balloon and outfit, together with the gas required. The proposition was accepted, and the construction of an immense balloon of twilled cotton was carried to completion. But before the inflation some differences arose between the aeronauts regarding the reliability of the balloon. Donaldson's inexperience placed him in a secondary position throughout the entire transaction, but when the time for action came he found himself the principal, Mr. Wise having withdrawn. Such a balloon as Donaldson found himself possessed of