William L. Donn 1918–1987

Abstract

William L. Donn, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, City College of New York, and Special Research Scientist at Lamont‐Doherty Geological Observatory (LDGO) of Columbia University (Palisades, N.Y.), died at his home on June 30, 1987, at the age of 69. Bill demonstrated expertise in a wide range of fields, with a highly productive and creative research and writing career that included geology, oceanography, climatology, atmospheric physics, and meteorology.Donn was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on March 2, 1918. At the tender age of 10 years, he demonstrated his love and talent for science by building a telescope with his brother, Bertram. During his undergraduate years at Brooklyn College, he switched his major from astronomy to geology. He was largely selftrained in both meteorology and oceanography, serving as head of the Meteorology Section, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy during World War II . One by‐product of these years was the textbook Meteorology—With Marine Applications, first published in 1946. This widely adopted text became a standard for a generation of mariners and college students.