KNOWLTON, DONALD SNOW (22 Nov. 1892-27 July 1976) attained success in his field of public relations and his avocation as a free-lance writer. Born in Cleveland, he was the son of Fanny Snow Knowlton (13 June 1859-11 Nov. 1926), a distinguished local composer and one of the founders of the CLEVELAND MUSIC SCHOOL SETTLEMENT. Educated at Lincoln High School and Western Reserve University, Donald Knowlton went into advertising and became advertising manager of the Union Trust Co. (see HUNTINGTON NATIONAL BANK) His job included managing radio station WJAX during the period when it was operated by the bank. He authored the book These Bankers (1925) and articles for such periodicals as Atlantic Monthly, American Mercury, and Saturday Evening Post. Drawing upon his experience as banjoist in a jazz band, he wrote one of the first serious discussions of jazz as an American art form in a 1926 article in Harper's, "What Is Jazz?". After the closing of the Union Trust during the Depression, Knowlton teamed with John W. Hill to form the public relations firm of Hill & Knowlton, where he remained until his retirement in 1962. A member of the HERMIT CLUB, ROWFANT CLUB, and CITY CLUB, Knowlton frequently collaborated with Joseph Newman and CARL D. FRIEBOLIN in the latter organization's annual ANVIL REVUE. He also wrote mystery stories for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. The privately printed Brick House Stories (1936), containing recollections of his mother's home in BRECKSVILLE, was written for his daughter Patricia Stange, who became a reporter for Life magazine and the CLEVELAND PRESS. Knowlton died 4 years after the death of his wife Bernice.
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