Donald Snow Knowlton (November 22, 1892 – July 27, 1976) was an American

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

executive. He co-founded

Hill and Knowlton Hill+Knowlton Strategies is an American global public relations consulting company, headquartered in New York City, United States, with over 80 offices in more than 40 countries. The company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1927 by John W. Hill ...

with

John W. Hill John Wiley Hill (November 26, 1890 – March 17, 1977) was an American public relations executive. He co-founded Hill & Knowlton with Donald Knowlton in 1933.Miller, Karen S. (1999). ''The Voice of Business: Hill & Knowlton and Postwar Public Re ...

.Miller, Karen S. (1999). ''The Voice of Business: Hill & Knowlton and Postwar Public Relations.''

University of North Carolina Press The University of North Carolina Press (or UNC Press), founded in 1922, is a university press that is part of the University of North Carolina. It was the first university press founded in the Southern United States. It is a member of the Ass ...

Life and career

Knowlton was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. He graduated from

Lincoln-West High School Lincoln-West High School (L-W) is a high school located in Cleveland, in the U.S. state of Ohio and part of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. The school's name is a by-product of the merger between Cleveland's Lincoln High School and Wes ...

and

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

. He became advertising manager at Union Trust Co., including managing the bank-owned radio station WJAX. He authored the 1926 book ''These Bankers'' during that time. Union Trust closed during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, so Knowlton joined Hill in the new venture. In 1946, Hill and Knowlton dissolved their partnership, and Knowlton took over the direction of Hill & Knowlton Cleveland, which closed shortly after Knowlton's retirement in 1962.Knowlton, Donald Snow
via The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History Knowlton also maintained an interest in music. His mother, Fanny Snow Knowlton, was a composer. He was a

banjoist This article comprises two separate lists. The first consists of #Primary banjo players, primary banjo players and the second of #Celebrity banjo players, celebrities that also play the banjo. Primary banjo players A listing of notable musi ...

in a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

band as an adult. Knowlton wrote one of the first serious discussions of jazz as an American art form in a 1926 article for '' Harper's'', entitled "The Anatomy of Jazz."Lopes, Paul (2002). ''The Rise of a Jazz Art World.''

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, Knowlton, Don (April 1926). "The Anatomy of Jazz," '' Harper's''

Selected publications

*''Profit and Loss'' (1944) *''Brick House Stories'' (1936) *''Advertising for Banks'' (1932) *''Cooperation in Public Relations'' (1931) *''These Bankers'' (1926)

References

External links

Donald Snow Knowlton
via The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History at

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

John W. Hill (r) and Don S. Knowlton, of the public relations firm of Hill & Knowlton, giving testimony before the Senate Civil Liberties Committee on steel company public relations campaign
via

United States Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

1892 births 1976 deaths Public relations pioneers 20th-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from Cleveland {{US-business-bio-1890s-stub