Law / Politics
Donald M. Dickinson
1846–1917 · lawyer, U.S. postmaster general
Leading Detroit trial lawyer and Democratic organizer who served as Grover Cleveland's postmaster general (1888–1889); Dickinson County in the Upper Peninsula is named for him.
- Born
Richland, Oswego County, New York- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 71- Birth name
- Donald McDonald Dickinson
- Also known as
- Don M. Dickinson
- Detroit years
- 1867–1917
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Donald M. Dickinson was born in upstate New York in 1846, moved to Michigan with his family as a toddler and graduated from the University of Michigan law school in 1867. He built one of Detroit's most successful law practices, frequently arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court. From 1872 he worked to rebuild the Democratic Party in what was then a heavily Republican state, sat on the Democratic National Committee from 1880 to 1885 and was an early backer of Grover Cleveland's 1884 presidential bid. After declining a seat on the new Civil Service Commission, he became U.S. postmaster general in January 1888 and served until Cleveland's first term ended in 1889, dealing with a major railroad strike that disrupted the mails. He remained a national Democratic power broker and an adviser to Cleveland, and in 1896 broke with his party over free silver. He argued international arbitration cases later in life. He died in Detroit in 1917 and is buried at Elmwood. Dickinson County, Michigan, bears his name.
Highlights
- U.S. postmaster general, 1888–1889
- Member of the Democratic National Committee, 1880–1885
- Prominent Detroit lawyer before the U.S. Supreme Court
- Dickinson County, Michigan, is named after him
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Buried here · 1917
Elmwood Cemetery
He is interred at Elmwood Cemetery.