RINGWALL, RUDOLPH (19 Mar. 1891-26 Jan. 1978), violinist and conductor, was born in Bangor, Maine, son of Knute and Teckla Ringwall. He graduated from the New England Conservatory in 1913 and from 1913-15 and 1917-20 was a violinist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Karl Muck. In 1914-17 Ringwall played in a string quartet in San Mateo, Calif.
RINI, MARTIN (29 Mar. 1901-24 Aug. 1994) was the founder and head of Rini Supermarkets and the Stop-N-Shop Association who introduced and pioneered numerous concepts to the Cleveland supermarket industry.
RISKO, JOHN "JOHNNY" (18 Dec. 1902-13 Jan. 1953), heavyweight boxer who gained fame between 1925-34 as a "spoiler" of aspiring heavyweight champions' dreams, was born in Austria-Hungary in what is now the Slovak Republic. Son of John and Susan Risko, he arrived in Cleveland at 6 and attended school until he was 8 at which time he began working at a bakery.
The RITE AID CLEVELAND MARATHON AND 10K (actually a 26-mile annual marathon and a separate 10-km run) was originally sponsored by the REVCO DRUG STORE chain and cosponsored by various Cleveland-area companies. In late 1997, Revco was acquired by RI-based CVS Corp., which sponsored the race from 1998 through 2002.
The RIVER TERMINAL RAILWAY CO., a class I "Switching" or "belt line," has been a vital link between Cuyahoga River Valley industries and the main-line railroads into Cleveland.
RIVEREDGE TOWNSHIP was founded in 1926 by residents in the western section of BROOK PARK Village who were dissatisfied with the results of a bitterly fought local election.
RIVERSIDE CEMETERY, a private association organized in Nov. 1875, fulfilled a need for cemeteries on the west side. Until the late 1890s, the MONROE ST. CEMETERY was the only Cleveland municipal cemetery there. The Riverside Cemetery Assn. purchased Brainard Farm's 102.5 acres, landscape architect E. O. Schwaegerl prepared a plan, and ground was broken in Apr. 1876.
ROBB, HUNTER (30 Sept. 1863-15 May 1940), the first Cleveland physician with special training in gynecology and a proponent of aseptic surgical techniques, was born in Burlington, N.J. to Thomas and Caroline Woolman Robb. He was educated at Burlington College and the University of Pennsylvania, received his medical degree in 1884, and was a resident in Philadelphia between 1884-86.
ROBB, ISABEL ADAMS HAMPTON (26 Aug. 1859-15 April 1910), nurse and textbook author, helped standardize education for NURSING in the United States and abroad. She played a key role in founding the forerunner of the Francis Payne Bolton School for Nursing in Cleveland (see CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY).
ROBBINS, DR. FREDERICK CHAPMAN (25 August 1916- 4 August 2003) was a pediatrician, Nobel Prize laureate, and former Dean of the Medical School at CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY. Born to botanists William J. and Christine Chapman Robbins in Auburn, AL, Frederick Robbins grew up in Columbia, MO, and received his A.B. (1936) and B.S.
ROBERT CASADESUS INTL. PIANO COMPETITION. See CLEVELAND INTL. PIANO COMPETITION.
ROBERT KENNEDY'S CITY CLUB OF CLEVELAND SPEECH, 1968. On April 5, 1968, one day after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Senator Robert F. Kennedy delivered a speech entitled "On the Mindless Menace of Violence" at the CITY CLUB OF CLEVELAND. In the 10-minute speech Kennedy deplored violence in American society.
ROBERT P. MADISON INTERNATIONAL, INC., is an architectural firm founded in 1954 by Robert P. Madison and his brothers, Julian and Bernard. A Cleveland native and graduate of EAST TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL, Robert P.
ROBERT PAGE SINGERS. See CLEVELAND SINGERS.
ROBERTS AND WENDT ANIMAL HOSPITAL, founded in 1934 by Drs. Harry Roberts and Clifford Wagner, is Cleveland's oldest small-animal clinic. Clinic doctors served as the CLEVELAND METROPARKS ZOO veterinarians from late 1930s until 1988, and also conducted field studies on anesthetics for Parke-Davis drug company. Dr. Wallace Wendt joined the practice in 1945 and Dr.
ROBERTS, NARLIE (14 April 1931-18 Dec. 1987) prominent businessman who purchased the first black-owned McDonald's franchise in Cleveland. He was born in Allendale, South Carolina, the son of George and Mary Goodman Roberts. Roberts, who came to Cleveland in 1952, organized the R & B Lath and Plastering Co. in partnership with his brother-in-law, Eugene Bush, and the business prospered.
ROBERTS, WILLIAM (BILL) E. (17 Oct. 1914-18 Nov. 1978) spent his entire working life in the art department of the CLEVELAND PRESS, culminating in a 16-year reign as the paper's editorial cartoonist.
ROBERTSON, CARL TROWBRIDGE (31 Jan. 1876-2 June 1935), journalist and son of Georgia Trowbridge and George A. Robertson, founder of the CLEVELAND MORNING RECORDER, was born in N. Bloomfield, Trumbull County, Ohio. He graduated from Harvard in 1898, and after a year teaching returned to Cleveland.
ROBERTSON, DONALD Q. "DON" (21 March 1929 - 21 March, 1999) was a prolific novelist who was lauded by author Stephen King and criticized by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Robertson was born in Cleveland to Josephine (Wuebben) and CARL T. ROBERTSON.
ROBERTSON, GEORGE A. (14 Jan. 1850-20 Feb. 1908), reporter, editor and publisher, founded and edited the CLEVELAND RECORDER (1895-97). He also acquired and ran the DAILY LEGAL NEWS as a morning edition of the Recorder. Robertson's birth place was Hampden, OH (Geauga County).
ROBERTSON, JOSEPHINE (JO) WUEBBEN (1900-19 Oct. 1990) pioneered first as a woman reporter in daily journalism and later as a reporter in the field of medical journalism. The daughter of a Lutheran minister, she was born in Napoleon, O., raised in Logan, and received degrees from Ohio Univ. and Ohio State Univ.
ROBESON, LILA PAULINE (4 April 1880-7 Dec. 1960) was an international opera star and the first Cleveland-born artist to sing with the Metropolitan Opera (1912-1922) in New York.
ROBINSON, EDWIN "TED" MEADE (1 Nov. 1878-20 Sept. 1946), conductor of Cleveland's most prestigious contributors' column in the PLAIN DEALER, was born in Lima, Ind., son of William E. and Alice Drake Meade Robinson.
ROBINSON, FRANK (31 August 1935-7 February 2019) was a Hall of Fame baseball player and the first African-American manager in the major leagues, for the CLEVELAND INDIANS.
ROBISON, FRANK DE HAAS (1852-25 Sept. 1908), pioneer in street railway lines and owner of the CLEVELAND SPIDERS, was born in Pittsburg, the son of Martin Stanford and Mariah Allison Robison. After spending his boyhood in Dubuque, Iowa, he attended Delaware University briefly.
ROCK 'N' ROLL. Through a series of interesting personalities and promotions, rock 'n' roll had its main market birth in Cleveland in the early 1950s. In the late 1940s, LEO MINTZ, the owner of Record Rendezvous, saw the decrease in sales of big band records.
The ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM, located at 1 Key Plaza on the lakefront, opened in Sept. 1995 after 9 years of planning, coordination, and construction. The Rock Hall became a local reality on 5 May 1986 when its parent organization, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation (based in New York City), announced that Cleveland had been chosen as the site for the Hall of Fame.
ROCK SALT. Cleveland generates massive amounts of salt from below ground annually, but few outside academia or the salt industry may know that the area's halite deposits were discovered generations before the INTERNATIONAL SALT COMPANY opened the WHISKEY ISLAND mine.
ROCK, FREDERICK (15 Feb. 1840-8 Nov. 1924) Congressional Medal of Honor recipient for service during the CIVIL WAR, was born in Meisenheim, Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1846 and settled in Cleveland.
The ROCKEFELLER BUILDING is a 17-story office building erected by JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER in 1903-05. The historic WEDDELL HOUSE hotel (1847) previously stood on the site, the corner of Superior and W. 6th St. The Rockefeller Bldg. housed offices of iron, coal, and lake-shipping concerns.
ROCKEFELLER PARK covers approx. 200 acres on the city's east side, extending from GORDON PARK on the lakefront to SHAKER HTS. The northernmost and largest section, the Brookway Div., follows Doan Brook along Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr. (formerly Lower East Blvd., then Liberty Blvd.) for about 3 miles. In the middle, the Cedar Div.
ROCKEFELLER, JOHN D. (8 July 1839-23 May 1937), industrialist and philanthropist, rose from his position as an assistant bookkeeper for a Cleveland commission merchant to become one of the wealthiest men in the U.S. through his efforts in developing the STANDARD OIL CO. Born on a farm near Richford, NY. Rockefeller was the son of Wm. A. and Eliza Davison Rockefeller.
ROCKER, SAMUEL (Feb. 1864-18 March 1936) founded and served as editor in chief of Die YIDDISHE VELT (the Jewish World). He also contributed to other papers and was a correspondent for the Jewish Daily News of New York. Rocker was born in Galicia (Austria) to Ephraim Fishel and Faigela Rocker.
ROCKET MORTGAGE FIELDHOUSE, originally named Gund Arena, opened in 1994 at 100 Gateway Plaza as part of the new Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex, which was intended to revitalize downtown Cleveland.
ROCKPORT, one of 19 townships that originally composed Cuyahoga County, was created on 24 Feb. 1819. Made up of 22 1-sq.-mi.
ROCKY RIVER, originally part of ROCKPORT TWP. (created in 1819), formed as a hamlet in 1891, incorporated as a village in 1903, and designated a city in 1930. Prior to 1891, the area was also known as Granger City and Riverbank. Rocky River occupies 4.7 sq. mi. on the Lake Erie shore 9 miles west of Cleveland.
RODZINSKI, ARTUR (2 Jan. 1892-27 Nov. 1958), second conductor of the CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA, was born of Polish parents in Dalmatia, Yugoslavia, graduated from the University of Vienna as a Doctor of Law to please his father, while studying music at the Vienna Academy of Music.
ROEDIGER, STANLEY I. (9 Nov. 1910-1 Jan. 1998) formed Roediger Construction Inc. and played a role in helping to build some of Greater Cleveland's most prominent structures. Roediger was born in Ohio to William A., a building contractor, and Mary (Doyle) Roediger. He graduated from Shaw High School in EAST CLEVELAND and began a carpenter apprenticeship with his father.
The ROGERS EXPEDITION, led by Maj. Robt. Rogers, crossed the south shore of Lake Erie in Nov. 1760 by boat and on foot, with the objective of taking command of Ft. Detroit following the French & Indian War. Existing journals indicate that the Cleveland area furnished at least 1 landing site.
ROGERS, JAMES HOTCHKISS (7 Feb. 1857-28 Nov. 1940), composer, music critic, organist, and teacher, was born in Fair Haven, Conn., son of Martin L. and Harriett. Hotchkiss began piano lessons at 12 and organ lessons later, and studied in Europe from 1875-80. In 1883, Rogers moved to Cleveland, becoming organist at Euclid Ave.
ROGERS, MARGARET MARIE HARDEN (30 March 1914-26 April 1993) was a Cuyahoga County welfare administrator who, in 1965, became the first African American in the department to become a caseworker supervisor.
ROGERS, WARREN LINCOLN (14 Nov. 1877-6 Nov. 1938), bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio (1925-30) and fifth bishop (1930-38), was born in Allentown, N.J., son of Samuel Hartshorne and Josephine (Lincoln) Rogers. He converted to Episcopalianism while at the University of Michigan, from which he graduated in 1907.
The ROLLERCADE was a skating rink located at 6800 Denison Ave. It was housed in a building originally constructed in 1929 and known as the Equestrium. Built for the CLEVELAND UNION STOCKYARDS CO., livestock shows, polo matches, riding contests, and prize fights were held there.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CEMETERIES are integral to the religion's practice. Under canon law, Catholics should be buried in cemeteries established by a parish or the diocese. Lacking that, the consecrated section of a non-Catholic one may suffice, or each grave may be blessed at entombment.
ROMANI (or ROMA) are a people with origins in northern India, and later, Europe, historically known for being a nomadic itinerant group.
ROMANIANS. Among the new Southern and East European immigrants coming to Cleveland in the late 1800s were an increasing number of ethnic Romanians, most from the province of Transylvania, at that time part of Austria-Hungary. Other Cleveland Romanians came from the province of Bucovina on the Polish and Russian borders, also part of Austria-Hungary before WORLD WAR I.
The ROOT & MCBRIDE CO. was one of the leading pioneer wholesale dry goods firms in the Midwest. The A.M. Perry & Co., a partnership of 2 local merchants, Ashbel M. Perry and Ralph R. Root, founded the City Mills general store in 1849 on the corner of Superior and Seneca (W. 3rd) streets. In 1857 Root and another local retailer, Edmund P.
RORIMER, LOUIS (12 Sept. 1872-30 Nov. 1939) was born in Cleveland, the son of Minnie (Iglauer) and Jacob Rorimer, a wealthy tobacco dealer. He was educated under sculptor Henry Matzen at Manual Training School, and at 16 went to Europe to study, attending the Kunstgewerbeschule in Munich and Académie Julian in Paris for decorative arts.
The ROSE IRON WORKS, INC., custom fabricators of art and industrial metals, is one of the oldest firms of its kind in the U.S. It was founded by Martin Rose in Cleveland in 1904. Rose (1870-1955) was born in Hungary and studied and apprenticed in Budapest and Vienna. He emigrated to Cleveland in 1903 with his wife and a son.
ROSE METAL INDUSTRIES one of the area’s most noted metal fabricators, was established in Cleveland in 1904 by Martin Rose (1870-1955).