Dr. Joseph
Lawrence Donnelly
Information comes from Bicentennial of Physcians of Northern Kentucky by Dr. Alvin C Poweleit, 1977
Joseph Lawrence Donnelly was born 5 July 1894 in Newport, Ky, the son of Edward Lewis Donnelly and Jessie Schoenberger. He was educated in the schools of Ft Thomas and graduated from Woodward High School in Cincinnati in 1913. Dr. Donnelly received his AB in chemistry in 1917, AM in chemistry in 1919 and PhD in chemistry at biochemistry in 1921, his MB in medicine in 1927 and his MD in medicine in 1928, all at the University of Cincinnati.
From 1927-29 he interned and was houseman at the Cincinnati General Hospital. Early in World War I he enlisted in Troop E, 136th Cavalry and then became a corportal in the Chemical Warfare Service, stationed at American University and at the Catholic University when the team developed Lewisite. During World War II he earned the rank of Major in the Medical Corp Army at Edgewood Arsenal, New Jersey.
In 1933, Dr. Donnelly worked at the UC Physiology lab. He found radio waves would heat food. Years later we have the microven oven. He though radio waves would selectively heat maligant tumors and would be a possitive treatment for cancer. He studied magnesium and its effects upon the heart.
Dr. Donnelly practiced in Covington as a physician in 1942 and then for five years at his home, 1620 North Ft Thomas Avenue, Ft Thomas, but he devoted most of his life in medical rearch and laboratory work. For over 30 years he was interested in magnesium therapy for bronhcospasm and cardiac arrhthmias. He was a member of the American Medical Association, the Kentucky State Medical Association and the Campbell Kenton County Medical Society. He was also a member of colloid Gesellschaft, Leipsig, Germany, the American Society of Clinical Pathologists, Nu Sigma Nu Medical Fraternity.
Dr. Donnelly died 5 July 1975 in Cincinnati and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Southgate Ky.
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Kentucky Post, Friday, 7 July 1916, page 1
Effort is being made to secure a Carnegie hero medal for Joseph Donnelly, 291 Mt Pleasant av. Ft Thomas, who, according to eye witnesses rescued two troopers of Company B, First Regiment, from drowning in the Ohio River late Thursday. The soldiers were stationed at Ft Thomas and had gone with a score or more troopers for an afternoon swim. They swam too far into the current and went down. The rescue occurred at the intake pier off Ft Thomas.
Donnelly, commenting on the incident, regarded his feat as nothing more than usual.
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Cincinnati Post, Thursday, 22 June 1922, page 13
Dr. Joseph L Donnelly, instructor of chemistry at the University of Cincinnati, will attend Princeton University one year free of charge, through a scholarship awarded him by the Research Board of the National Research Council at New York. The scholarship carries a salary of $1800.
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Cincinnati Post, Saturday, 16 April 1927, page 9
Dr. Saul B Arenson, department of chemical engineering, University of Cincinnati, announced Saturday of the election of faculty and graduate students to active membership in Sigma Xi, the honorary scientific fraternity; Dr. Joseph L Donnelly.
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Cincinnati Post, Wednesday, 18 May 1927, page 22
Members of the faculty of the Sigma Xi and graduate students to be initiated include: Dr. Joseph L Donnelly.
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Kentucky Post, Wednesday, 5 December 1928, page 29
Dr. Joseph L Donnelly was appointed assistant in surgery at the College of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati by the Board of Directors at its meeting late Tuesday.
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Kentucky Post, Tuesday, 6 November 1934, page 1
Lawrence E Tucker, was not to blame for an auto accident in which his mother in law, Mrs. Grace Hill Carpenter, wealthy Ft Thomas Ky. widow, was injured fatally. Tucker testified his mother in law had tried to poison him several times; had plotted to kidnap his children and had charged him with extortion after giving him $30,000 to atone for the attempted poisonings.
Added to this was testimony of Dr. Joseph L Donnelly, Ft Thomas, Mrs. Carpenter's personal physician, he did not believe the body buried at Ft Thomas was that of that of his patient, and testimony of the widow's two Cincinnati brothers that she was mentally unbalanced. In answer to Dr. Donnelly's statement he did not believe the body buried was that of Mrs. Carpenter, Wilbur M Brucker and August A Rendigs Jr. counsel for Mr. Tucker, brought out the fact that 26 witnesses had identified the body as that of Mrs. Carpenter.
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Kentucky Post, Saturday, 30 January 1937, page 1
Four Ft Thomas physicians opened a clinic this morning at 9 am at the Highlands High School to begin immunization against typhoid of flood refugees who have agreed to the procedure.
Dr. Frank Southgate, Dr. August F Fath, Dr. J L Donnelly and Dr. J H Hohnstedt are in charge of the work, assisted by Nurse Maude Brown.
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Kentucky Post, Wednesday, 10 March 1943, page 1
Dr. Joseph L Donnelly recently was promoted from captain to major at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland, according to word received by his mother, Mrs. Jessie Donnelly, 1620 N Ft Thomas avenue, Ft Thomas. Major Donnelly, one of Northern Kentucky's most outstanding physicians has been in the Army one year.
Prior to his Army service, he conducted research for several years at the University of Cincinnati and Princeton University.
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Kentucky Post, Friday, 31 December 1954, page 2
The list of patrons for the 1955 Charity Ball of the Campbell County Protestant Children's Home has been released: Dr Joseph L Donnelly.