Researching John Dunn

He was the ninth child of John and Abigail (Jackson) Dunn. In 1837, his family moved to Petersham, Massachusetts. He began what was to become his lifelong career in chair manufacturing in 1852. He worked in a factory in East Gardner, Massachusetts. He learned the craft of chair making in three months.

"The business of chair-making was commenced on the location where the large and busy factory of John A. Dunn stood. In 1838 Elijah Putman brought the water privilege of Wm. S. Lynde, and constructed a dam, moved his shop there, supplying it with machinery, putting himself and men to work. Seven years later Mr. Putman sold out to Thorley Collester, Ruel G. Cowee and Benjamin H. Rugg, who continued the business under the firm-name of Cowee, Collester and Company for a short time. When Maro Collester and Edward Stevens retired and Franklin and George Eaton took their places, the firm was changed to Collester, Rugg and Eaton. When Mr. Collester died in 1862, Mr. Rugg and George Eaton left, and Nathaniel Holmes joined with Franklin Eaton forming Eaton and Holmes Co. In 1864 John A. Dunn was admitted to the firm, which then was called Eaton, Holmes and Company. Mr. Dunn was the "Company" part in the name. In 1875 Mr. Holmes sold his interest to Isaac J. Dunn, brother of John A. Dunn, and the firm became J.A & I.J. Dunn, under which business was carried on until 1886, when John A. Dunn brought his brother's share and conducted the enterprise on his own behalf." Heywood, William S. Gardner and Westminster Historical Sketches, pages 837-838.

A. Dunn was the sole owner of the business until 1902. On March 26, 1902 the Dunn chair factory was destroyed by a fire. Mr. Dunn had a larger and fireproof brick factory built, with all modern factory features. This was all done within a year; people who had worked at the factory before the fire were given their jobs back. The business was incorporated to the John A. Dunn Company, John A. Dunn, president, his son George A. Dunn, vice-president and another son Frank C. Dunn was secretary-treasurer. The manufacturing of the chairs was done at the plant in Gardner, Massachusetts, but offices and warehouses were established in Chicago, Boston, and St. Paul; in addition to business going through those channels, the John A. Dunn Company supplied other chair manufacturers in large quantities both at home and abroad. Dunn lived to see his plant doing a business of $1,000,000 annually. His chairs were noted for their sturdy construction and durability. While most of his furniture was utilitarian in design he was especially proud of his Arts and Crafts style furniture.

Dunn was very involved in the civic life of Gardner, Mass. In his will Dunn gave a valuable piece of property to the city of Gardner. This land was turned into a public park and the pond was named Dunn's Pond, which later became Dunn State Park. Dunn was seen by the people of Gardner as a man of strong and marked personality who made the community conspicuous in the industrial and commercial world. He was a far sighted man with a clear head for business.

Upon the creation of the Province of Canada in 1841, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, representing Toronto, from 1841 to 1844. He also served for nearly three years as Receiver General of the new province. He resigned his position as the Receiver General in 1843, as part of the struggle for responsible government. Defeated in the general election of 1844, he returned to England with his family, where he died in 1854.

He was married twice, first to an Englishwoman, Charlotte Roberts, and after her death, to Sophie-Louise Juchereau Duchesnay, a French-Canadian. One of his sons from his first marriage, Alexander Roberts Dunn, entered the British Army and became the first Canadian to earn the Victoria Cross.

He began his career in higher education at the University of Connecticut in 1972. He moved to Oregon State University in 1975 and spent the next 20 years there, starting out as an assistant professor of health. He was a professor and associate provost at the time he left in 1995. During his time in Oregon, Dunn also served on the Corvallis School Board for 13 years.

Dunn served as the dean of the College of Health at the University of Utah from 1995 to 2002. He next served as provost and vice chancellor and then interim chancellor at Southern Illinois University.

Dunn began his term as president of Western Michigan University on July 1, 2007. Each year he donated his salary increase over his initial $345,000 salary in 2007 to scholarships for WMU students.

Dunn was educated at Harrow School and played his cricket as an amateur. A right-handed batsman, he made four first-class appearances for Surrey in 1881 and two for the MCC the following year. Although he was used as a specialist batsman he struggled in his matches, except for an innings of 38 not out which he made when playing with Surrey against Kent at Mote Park. His only other first-class match was for the Gentlemen of England, whom he represented against I Zingari in 1889.

After serving as a cadet at the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, Dunn joined the Liverpool Regiment in 1882 and was promoted to the rank of captain seven years later. In 1889 he was posted to Hong Kong with the Army Service Corps and began playing cricket for the UK territory.

He represented the Hong Kong cricket team in Interport matches, during 1891 and 1892. In a match against Shanghai which Hong Kong hosted, Dunn scored 107 to help his team win by an innings and 123 runs. Later that year in October, Hong Kong played an away match against Shanghai and travelled home on the SS Bokhara, which sank in a typhoon off the coast of Formosa. Dunn was killed along with ten of his teammates.