John A. K. Donovan
| John A. K. Donovan | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Virginia Senate from the 29 district |
|
|
In office January 9, 1952 – January 7, 1964 |
|
| Preceded by | Andrew W. Clarke |
| Succeeded by |
Omer L. Hirst Robert C. Fitzgerald |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 23, 1907 Edgewood, Rhode Island |
| Died | January 1, 1993 Arlington, Virginia |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Virginia Donovan |
| Children | Anne Larson, Mary Mulhern |
| Alma mater | George Washington University |
| Occupation | dog breeder, author |
| Profession | Attorney |
John Amadeus Kiernan Donovan (June 23, 1907 – January 1, 1993) was an attorney, author, dog breeder and Virginia Democratic politician who served part-time in the Virginia Senate representing Fairfax County from 1952 until 1964.
Born in Edgewood, Rhode Island, Donovan's family (he also had 3 sisters) moved to the Washington D.C. metropolitan area when John was a child. He was educated at Gonzaga College High School, Georgetown University and the George Washington University, receiving both an LLM and LLB. He married Mary Virginia Donovan, and they had two daughters.
Donovan practiced law in Virginia from 1933 until 1983, when he retired but continued to do legal work out of his home and remained active in his community. Donovan moved to Falls Church, Virginia in 1941 and served as the town attorney in the 1940s. He later proudly called himself the nuttiest trial lawyer in Virginia.
He was active in the American Bar Association, the American Judicature Society and Virginia Bar Association, as well as in his local Lions club (serving as District Governor and State Parliamentarian). Active in his local Catholic church, St. James Catholic Church in Falls Church, as well as the Knights of Columbus and Eagles, Donovan was made a knight of the order of St. Sylvester by Pope Pius XII. In 1956 the Catholic War Veterans named Donovan their Catholic layman of the year.
Donovan and his wife bred Irish wolfhounds and Donovan served as president of the Old Dominion Kennel Club. With the assistance of their daughter's Anne's illustrations, Donovan published several books about dogs, mostly through the local publisher, Denlinger:
...
Wikipedia