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Ethel Frances Donaghue

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Ethel Frances Donaghue
Ethel Frances Donaghue, from the 1917 yearbook of Vassar College
BornJuly 6, 1896
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedDecember 30, 1989 (age 93)
West Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Occupation(s)Lawyer, philanthropist

Ethel Frances Weldon Donaghue (July 6, 1896 – December 30, 1989) was an American lawyer, socialite, and philanthropist. She left over $50 million to fund medical research, through the Donaghue Foundation.

Early life and education

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Donaghue was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of Patrick Donaghue and Catherine Weldon Donaghue.[1] Her father was an Irish immigrant who built a fortune in real estate and liquor sales in Connecticut, and died when she was a teenager. She graduated from Vassar College in 1917, and from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1920. She earned an Doctor of Juridical Science degree from New York University School of Law in 1922.[2]

Career

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Donaghue worked for the United States Department of Justice, where she specialized in admiralty law from 1920 to 1922.[3] She was admitted to the New York bar in 1922,[4] and the Connecticut bar in 1926.[5] She practiced law focused on trusts and real estate in Hartford until 1933, when she retired to care for her mother and her family's properties. She traveled with her mother and brother,[6] and threw lavish parties.[7] Her brother sued her in 1941, over the division of their inherited properties.[8]

She established the Donaghue Foundation in 1977, to fund medical research on cancer and heart disease.[2][9]

Later life and legacy

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Donaghue broke her hip in 1976,[7] and had a series of debilitating strokes in 1980. The management of her estate by conservators after 1980 became a complicated social and political controversy[10][11] when probate judge James H. Kinsella gave a close friend and a former clerk power over the Donaghue fortune.[7][12] The judge resigned in the face of possible impeachment.[13] She died in 1989, at the age of 93, at her home in West Hartford.[14]

Donaghue left most of her family's sizeable fortune, over $50 million, to fund cancer research through the Donaghue Foundation, with a smaller fund to maintain Hartford's Elizabeth Park.[15] Her law school papers are in the collection of the University of Connecticut Library.[2] In 1993, her home in West Hartford was the Hartford Junior League's "decorator show house".[16] Her estate was in the news again in 2021, when one of her heirs' legal fees were described as "excessive".[17]

The Ethel F. Donaghue Women's Health Investigator Awards at Yale University fund medical researchers focused on women's health,[18] including Akiko Iwasaki, Peter Salovey, and Sally Shaywitz.[19]

References

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  1. ^ "Mrs. Donaghue Leaves Property to Son, Daughter". Hartford Courant. 1933-12-19. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-05-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c Ethel F. Donaghue Papers, Archives & Special Collections, University of Connecticut Libraries.
  3. ^ "Resigns as Special Assistant to U.S. Attorney General". Hartford Courant. 1921-10-12. p. 15. Retrieved 2025-05-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Passes New York Bar Examinations". Hartford Courant. 1922-06-14. p. 8. Retrieved 2025-05-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Miss Ethel Donaghue Sworn in as Lawyer". Hartford Courant. 1926-04-15. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-05-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Miss Ethel F. Donaghue". Hartford Courant. 1924-05-18. p. 50. Retrieved 2025-05-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c Lang, Joel (1982-03-28). "What Really Happened to Miss Donaghue? Part 2". Hartford Courant. pp. 32, 33, 34, 38, 39. Retrieved 2025-05-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Property Division Sought in Action by T. W. Donaghue". Hartford Courant. 1941-09-03. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-05-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Yale and Donaghue partnership treats research advances as a practical matter". Yale School of Medicine. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  10. ^ Williams, Thomas D. (1983-12-23). "Trio of Wills for Donaghue Opens Way for Court Fights". Hartford Courant. p. 8. Retrieved 2025-05-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Stillman, Mark; Williams, Thomas D. (1981-03-04). "Lawyers Battle over Estate". Hartford Courant. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-05-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Regan, Michael; Mahony, Edmund (1983-12-23). "Evidence in Donaghue Case Questionable". Hartford Courant. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-05-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "James Kinsella, Former Hartford Mayor, Probate Judge, Dies At 88". Hartford Courant. 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  14. ^ "Ethel F. Donaghue, 93, A Real-Estate Lawyer". The New York Times. 1990-01-02. p. B5. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  15. ^ "Elizabeth Park". City of Hartford. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  16. ^ Aller, Susan B. (1993-05-20). "Miss Donaghue, this one's for you". Hartford Courant. p. 129. Retrieved 2025-05-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Fees Being Questioned in Inheritance Case". Hartford Courant. 1993-06-15. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  18. ^ "Grant to Fund Women's Health Research". Yale Alumni Magazine. April 1998.
  19. ^ Peart, Karen. "Women's Health Research at Yale Gets Boost from 1999 Ethel F. Donaghue Investigator Awards". Yale School of Medicine. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
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