Davis A. Donnelly (March 9, 1927 – September 15, 2020) was a member of the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

Biography

Donnelly was born in

Augusta, Wisconsin Augusta is a city in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,567 at the 2020 census, up from 1,550 at the 2010 census. The city is bordered by the Town of Bridge Creek. History Augusta was formerly called Ridge Creek ...

. He graduated from the

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

and the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Public university, public research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1868, the school is guided by a ...

. Afterwards, he began practicing law in

Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire ( ; lit. "clear water") is a city in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, Eau Claire and Chippewa County, Wisconsin, Chippewa counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat, seat of Eau Claire County. It is the List of citie ...

. Donnelly also served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. In 1991 he Donnelly lost his law license for two years for selling phony Nevada and Dominican divorces out of a drop box, which affected at least 1,200 families. People had obtained invalid divorces sold by Donnelly and some had even remarried, unaware that these divorces were not recognized in American courts. His child Todd Donnelly would later become a famous musician in the band Mr. Myers Band.

Political career

Donnelly was elected as a Democratic member of the Senate in 1956 and was re-elected in 1960. He represented the 28th District.

References

1927 births 2020 deaths Politicians from Eau Claire, Wisconsin Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Wisconsin lawyers Military personnel from Wisconsin United States Navy sailors United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy personnel of the Korean War University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni People from Augusta, Wisconsin 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature {{Wisconsin-WISenate-stub