Ignatius Donnelly
Ignatius Donnelly was an influential American politician, writer, and scholar born in 1831 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After studying law and being admitted to the bar, he moved to Minnesota in 1857 where he initially sought to establish a model community. His political career began in earnest when he was elected as Minnesota’s lieutenant governor in 1859, followed by three terms in Congress, where he became known for his radical Republican views, including support for the Freedman's Bureau and opposition to high tariffs. Despite his early successes, Donnelly's political career faced challenges, particularly due to the rise of the Grange and his radical stance, which ultimately led to his defeat in a bid for a fourth Congressional term. Beyond politics, he was a prolific writer, publishing works on diverse topics including historical theory, astronomy, and Shakespeare, with particular emphasis on the belief that Francis Bacon was the true author of Shakespeare's works. Donnelly continued to engage in political discourse through his publications and even ran for vice president as a Populist candidate in 1900. He passed away in 1901, leaving behind a legacy marked by his unique blend of politics and literature.
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Ignatius Donnelly
Lieutenant Governor
- Born: November 3, 1831
- Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Died: January 1, 1901
- Place of death: Minnesota
Biography
Ignatius Donnelly was born in 1831 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Central High in Philadelphia, he studied law under General Benjamin Harris Brewster, who would later become attorney general of the United States. Donnelly was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1852. After practicing in Pennsylvania for a few years, he moved to Minnesota in 1857 with his wife, Katherine McCaffrey, in order to establish the model community of Nininger.
Although the panic of 1857 ruined any chance he had of becoming a wealthy land speculator, Donnelly turned to farming and was elected lieutenant governor of Minnesota in 1859. In 1863 he began the first of three terms in Congress as a representative from Minnesota. An advocate of expanding the Freedman’s Bureau and an opponent of high tariffs, Donnelly was a radical Republican who broke from the party mold, costing him his Congressional career and relegating him to the Minnesota legislature. With the emergence of the Grange, a national agricultural organization, as a powerful political force, Donnelly became head of the state Greenback Party and was robbed of a fourth Congressional term in 1876 because of Grange dominance. While the remainder of his political career proved to be ineffective, Donnelly moved on to publish Anti- Monopolist, his newspaper in Nininger that he used to push his political agenda.
However, Donnelly wrote on other subjects in addition to politics and published novels on historical theory and astronomy and science fiction about the future of labor in the late twentieth century. Donnelly also was a Shakespearean scholar and wrote on William Shakespeare’s sonnets as well as his belief that there were codes in Shakespeare revealing the true author to be Francis Bacon, not Shakespeare. Donnelly concluded his career with further political publications, the launch of the St. Paul Representative, and a failed campaign as the vice presidential candidate of the Populist Party in 1900. He died in 1901 at the age of sixty-nine, survived by his three children from his first marriage and his second wife, Marian Hanson.