James C. Donnell (April 20, 1854 – January 10, 1927) was an American

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

. He was the president of

The Ohio Oil Company Ohio ( ) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the west, and Michigan to the northwest. ...

from 1911 until his death in 1927.Ingham, ''Biographical'', 287-288

Early life and career

James C. Donnell was born on April 20, 1854, in

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

, Ireland, to James Donnell and Elizabeth Doyle. At the age of two, Donnell and his family moved to the United States and settled in

Waterford, Pennsylvania Waterford is a borough in Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,475 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Erie Metropolitan Statistical Area. Waterford is an independent municipality located entirely within (and surr ...

. At the age of eighteen, he began his career in the

oil industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The largest volume products ...

by hauling crude

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

from a

refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...

Titusville, Pennsylvania Titusville is a city in the far eastern corner of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,262 at the 2020 census. Titusville is known as the birthplace of the American oil industry and for a number of years was the le ...

. When the Bradford Oil Field opened in 1874, Donnell went into business for himself, gaining leases at Red Rock and Dallas City, Pennsylvania. He went on to gain further leases in Allentown and Bolivar, New York. He then headed to Ohio to begin work at the Lima Oil Field, and became associated with the

Standard Oil Company Standard Oil Company was a corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founded in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller. The ...

. In 1889, when the Standard Oil Company gained control of The Ohio Oil Company, Donnell was named a director of the company and manager of its field operations. In 1900 he was elected vice-president and general manager, moving his offices to

Findlay, Ohio Findlay ( ) is a city in Hancock County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The second-largest city in Northwest Ohio, Findlay lies about 40 miles (64 km) south of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo. Its population was 40,313 at the 2020 United Sta ...

the following year. In 1906, he accompanied then president of Standard Oil, John D. Archbold to Romania to assist in the reorganization of

The Romano-American Oil Company ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

. Two years later, they again set about reorganizing another facet of Standard Oil, with the reorganization of

Standard Oil of California Chevron Corporation is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, energy corporation predominantly specializing in Petroleum industry, oil and gas. The second-largest Successors of Standard Oil, direct descenda ...

in 1908.

The Ohio Oil Company

In 1911, the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

dismantled Standard Oil on

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

violations, and The Ohio Oil Company again became an independent company. Donnell succeeded Archbold as its president. He retained the position until his death in 1927. Under his direction, Ohio Oil expanded operations into sixteen states and Mexico. In 1915, he organized the Illinois Pipeline Company to operate pipeline transportation for Ohio Oil. In 1924, Donnell gained control of the Lincoln Oil Refining Company in Robinson, Illinois, giving Ohio Oil its own refining capacity. When he died in 1927, the assets of The Ohio Oil Company totalled $108 million, with $17 million net income. of oil or natural gas producing lands were owned or operated under lease by the company. According to ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

'', before he died in 1927, Donnell was known as the last living man to call

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the List of richest Americans in history, wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern hist ...

simply "John". Others called Rockefeller "Senior."

Legacy

The James C. Donnell Memorial,

Donnell Stadium Donnell Stadium, which was built in 1927 at a cost of $150,000, continues to serve as one of the stadiums of Ohio. A gift for Findlay City School District from Otto D. Donnell, Donnell Stadium was the original dream of J.C. Donnell, president ...

, in

was donated in 1928 by his son, Otto D. Donnell, and named in his father's honor. In 1981, Donnell was inducted into the

International Air & Space Hall of Fame The International Air & Space Hall of Fame is an honor roll of people, groups, organizations, or things that have contributed significantly to the advancement of aerospace flight and technology, sponsored by the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Sin ...

at the

San Diego Air & Space Museum The San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California. It is located in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building (San Diego), Ford Building, which is li ...

.Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. ''These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame''. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. .

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnell, James C 1854 births 1927 deaths Businesspeople from County Armagh Standard Oil Marathon Oil American businesspeople in the oil industry Founders of the petroleum industry 19th-century American businesspeople