Abstract
The Donner Foundation, Inc., the head of which is William H. Donner, of Philadelphia, has given a 64-room building in Palm Beach, Fla., to the Institutum Divi Thomæ, of Cincinnati, Ohio, for scientific research. The building, to be known as Donner Hall, was formerly a part of the estate of the late Colonel E. R. Bradley, and is adjacent to Bradley Hall, now occupied by the marine biological laboratories of the Institutum Divi Thomæ. Dr. George S. Sperti, director of the Institutum, states that Donner Hall will provide quarters for what is planned eventually to be the largest marine biophysics laboratory in the world; the Institutum already maintains a floating laboratory, the Aquina, which will become part of this programme. Secondly, since cancer in its simplest terms is a problem in cell division, and since lower forms of sea life offer convenient material for studying cell reproduction, Donner Hall will provide for intensive fundamental research in cancer. Finally, it will provide quarters for visiting scientific workers from various parts of the world, who will be invited to participate in a series of symposia devoted to different fields of research. The Institutum Divi Thomæ, founded in 1935 by the Most Rev. John T. McNicholas, Archbishop of Cincinnati, as a graduate research school, open to all scientific workers regardless of race, colour or creed, now has fourteen affiliated units throughout the United States; it has already been responsible for important work in various fields, notably biochemistry and biophysics. William H. Donner, whose generosity has opened the way to the establishment of the new cancer research centre, has previously given large sums for the study of cancer. He was born in Columbus, Ind., in 1864, and is a Presbyterian. Beginning as treasurer of the National Tin Plate Company at Anderson, Ind., Mr. Donner built its plate works near Pittsburgh and founded Monessen, Pa., before the company was absorbed by the American Tin Plate Company. He then built up another steel corporation in the same way until it became part of the Union Steel Company, which in turn was purchased by the United States Steel Corporation.
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Institutum Divi Thomæ: Extension of Facilities. Nature 160, 118 (1947). https://doi.org/10.1038/160118b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/160118b0