BOCK, JOSEPH COURTNEY (24 Sept. 1913-14 Feb. 1992), musical prodigy and outstanding amateur tennis player, was born in Cleveland the son of Peter D. and Laura Henrich Bock. He attended Western Reserve University studying the liberal arts. Bock also was an accomplished musician playing the piano and violin at a young age.
The BODDIE RECORDING CO., run by Thomas and Louise Boddie, was Cleveland's first African-American owned and operated recording studio, serving a clientele ranging from gospel, soul, and rhythm & blues groups, to rock, bluegrass, and country musicians from as far away as Detroit and West Virginia. Fascinated with Rube Goldberg machines and electronics since his childhood, owner Thomas R.
BOEHM, CHARLES (1853-9 Apr. 1932), was a missionary to Hungarian immigrants in America. Born in Selmecbanya, Hungary, to Felez and Julia Boehm, he entered the minor seminary at Esztergom, and was sent to the University of Vienna, where he completed his studies for the priesthood. He was ordained on 16 July 1876.
The BOHEMIAN NATIONAL HALL, built at 4939 Broadway Avenue in 1896-97 by CZECH immigrants, reportedly was the first hall in the city owned by a nationality group.
BOHM, EDWARD H. (7 Feb. 1838-7 May 1906), was a Civil War officer, newspaper publisher, and public official. Born in Alstedt, Saxe-Weimar, Germany, his family settled on a farm in NEWBURGH, Ohio in 1851. Bohm left the farm in 1856 to work on the Cleveland & Toledo Railroad until the CIVIL WAR broke out, when enlisted in Co. K, 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, on 18 Apr.
BOHN, ERNEST J. (1901-15 Dec. 1975), was a nationally known expert on PUBLIC HOUSING. Born in Hungary, the son of Frank J. and Juliana (Kiry) Bohn, he came to Cleveland with his father in 1911, graduating from Adelbert College in 1924 and Western Reserve Law School in 1926.
BOIARDI, HECTOR (1897-21 June 1985), known to millions as Chef Boy-ar-dee, began as a local restaurateur. Boiardi, son of Joseph and Mary (Maffi) Boiardi, began cooking in Italy at 10. He left for New York about 1914 to work at the Ritz Carlton. He came to Cleveland 3 years later as chef at the Hotel Winton, where his spaghetti dinners became the talk of the Midwest.
BOLE, ROBERTA HOLDEN (30 Sept. 1876-28 Oct. 1950) was a philanthropist who helped establish Holden Arboretum, classes for gifted children in the CLEVELAND PUBLIC SCHOOL System, and helped preserve DUNHAM TAVERN.
BOLIVAR ST. AME CHURCH. See ST. JOHN'S AME (AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL) CHURCH.
BOLLES, JAMES A. (2 May 1810-19 Sept. 1894), controversial rector of Trinity Church from 1855-59, was born in Norwich, Conn., the son of Ralph and Happy (Branch) Bolles. After graduating from Trinity College in Hartford (1830) and studying at the General Seminary in New York, in 1834 Bolles became an Episcopal priest and rector of St. James Church in Batavia, N.Y. In 1853, primarily through Samuel L.
BOLT, RICHARD ARTHUR (12 Mar. 1880-3 Aug. 1959), a physician and director of the CLEVELAND CHILD HEALTH ASSOCIATION, was born in St. Louis to Richard Orchard and Mary Virginia Belt Bolt. He studied at Washington University before transferring to the University of Michigan, earning his A.B. in 1904 and his Ph.D.
BOLTON AVE. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. See CALVARY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
The BOLTON FOUNDATION, founded in 1952 in Cleveland by FANNY HANNA BOLTON (d. 1982), was based on the philosophy of HOWARD MELVILLE HANNA, SR., Bolton's grandfather.
BOLTON, CHARLES CHESTER (23 March 1855 - 31 July 1930) was a distinguished Cleveland businessman, civic leader, philanthropist and member of a prominent Cleveland pioneer family. He was a partner in M.A. HANNA CO., and was an charter member of Troop A.
BOLTON, CHESTER CASTLE (5 Sept. 1882-29 Oct. 1939), an industrialist, Ohio senator, and U.S. congressman, was born in Cleveland to Chas. C. and Julia Castle Bolton. His father was a prominent Cleveland businessman and philanthropist, and his mother was the daughter of former Cleveland mayor WM. B. CASTLE.
BOLTON, FANNY MANN HANNA (6 Dec. 1907-9 May 1980) was a major contributor to and trustee of University Hospitals and was the founder of the Bolton Foundation.
BOLTON, FRANCES PAYNE (29 Mar. 1885-9 Mar. 1977), served as Republican congresswoman for 29 years and supported projects in nursing, health, and education. Born in Cleveland to banker-industrialist Chas. W.
BOLTON, KENYON C. (29 Mar. 1912-14 July 1983), philanthropist, military officer, and diplomat, served as Special Assistant to the U.S. Ambassador to France (1949-52) and as Honorary French Consul (1975-80), among other positions. He was awarded military honors by four countries, including the U.S. Bronze Star and the French Legion of Honor (1961), and the French Colonial Medal (1945).
BOLTON, SARAH KNOWLES (15 Sept. 1841-21 Feb. 1916), was a prolific writer of biographical studies, poetry, and a temperance novel. Born in Farmington, Conn., the daughter of John Segar and Mary Elizabeth Miller Knowles, she came to Cleveland in 1866 after marrying Chas. E. Bolton, a Cleveland businessman and active worker in temperance activities.
BOLTON, THOMAS (29 Nov. 1809-1 Feb. 1871), a prominent lawyer, was born in Scipio, N.Y. to Thomas and Hannah (Henry) Bolton. He attended Harvard University (1829-33), there meeting his future partner Moses Kelley. Bolton studied law in Canandaigua, N.Y.; came to Cleveland in Sept. 1834; and was admitted to the bar in 1835. In 1836 he and Kelley formed the firm of Bolton & Kelley.
The BOND STORE was the major example of Art Moderne commercial architecture in Cleveland. The Bond Clothing Co., which had occupied a store in the old Hickox Bldg. on the northwest corner of Euclid and E. 9th St. for many years since 1920, demolished the building in 1946 and erected its own store on the site.
BOND, DOUGLAS DANFORD (2 July 1911-30 Oct. 1976) was a prominent psychiatrist, educator and dean of CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY's School of Medicine (1959-1966) and director of psychiatric services at UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS OF CLEVELAND (1946-1969).
BOND, ROBERT L. (17 Jan. 1917-19 April 1990) spent his life in social work, and was a leader in the activities of Cleveland's neighborhood centers.
BONDER, EVELYN DARNOVSKY (10 Dec. 10 1918 – 15 April 2015) was an early tireless advocate of opportunities for women. She was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to Joseph and Mary (Cohen) Darnovsky.
BONE, JOHN HERBERT ALOYSIUS (J.H.A.) (31 Oct. 1830-17 Sept. 1906) upheld literary standards on 2 Cleveland newspapers for half a century. The son of a British army officer, he was born in Penryn, Cornwall, and diverted from a similar career by a boyhood accident which left his right arm crippled. He married Ellen Carpenter and brought her directly to Cleveland in 1851.
The BONFOEY GALLERY opened for business in 1893 in the Mayer-Marks building on Erie Street (present-day East Ninth Street). For more than 120 years, Bonfoey has provided custom art framing and other services in Cleveland. As the result of a series of fires, Bonfoey relocated several times during those years.
BONNE BELL RUN was an annual 10-kilometer race for women of all ages, sponsored by BONNE BELL, INC., of LAKEWOOD. This run, one of the first in the nation open exclusively to women, was begun in 1976 when Bonne Bell underwrote 10K races in New York, Aspen, Boston, Cleveland, and Atlanta.
BONNE BELL, INC., founded in 1927 by Jesse Grover Bell, grew into a $50 million cosmetics business by promoting a wholesome image and a "Be fit. Look good." philosophy. Bell, a cosmetics salesman from Salinas, KS, came to Cleveland and began the company, which he named after his daughter. He made his products on a hot plate in his basement and sold them door to door during the Depression.
The BOOK AND THIMBLE CLUB was a women's literary society that was active from 1890 until sometime after 1952. The group was founded when several women met in the home of Mrs. W. A. McKinsery on Cedar Ave. One of the women would read while the others would sew—thus the origin of the club's name. Four years later the group reorganized as a study club with the goal of promoting intellectual pursuits.
BOOTH MEMORIAL HOSPITAL originated as the Rescue (est. 21 Mar. 1892). Col. Mary (Mrs. Henry) Stillwell of the SALVATION ARMY converted a home at 5905 Kinsman Rd. into hospital quarters to house ostracized young women, some of them unwed mothers. The home came under the supervision of the Army's women's social-service department in 1902 and expanded its building in 1904.
BOUDREAU, LOUIS "LOU" (17 July 1917-10 August 2001) was a hall of fame player and manager for the CLEVELAND INDIANS.
BOURKE-WHITE, MARGARET (14 June 1904-27 Aug. 1971), was a prominent photojournalist who began her career in Cleveland. Born in New York, she graduated from Cornell University in 1927 and after a failed first marriage came to Cleveland, where her widowed mother had moved.
BOURNE, HENRY E. (13 Apr. 1862-19 June 1946), an expert on the French Revolution and history professor at Flora Stone Mather College, was born in East Hamburg, N.Y., son of James and Isabella (Staples) Bourne. He earned his B.A. (1883) and B.D. (1887) from Yale University. Bourne also received a L.H.D. degree from Marietta College and a L.L.D. degree from Western Reserve College.
BOWER, JOHN WILLIAM “JOHNNY” (8 November 1924-26 December 2017) was a hockey player who spent nine years with the AHL CLEVELAND BARONS before embarking on a Hall of Fame career as a goalie with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
BOWLING, once the leading participant sport in the nation, bowling's growth was tied to the development of the large urban areas where the game was most popular. In its early days, bowling was essentially a workingman's sport played in taverns, where a few alleys were set up to attract the drinking trade; as interest in the game grew, however, it moved away from its saloon-origin and gained respectability.
BOXING & WRESTLING. For most of the 19th century, the contact sports of boxing and wrestling were frowned on by the educated public and were seldom written about by Cleveland newspapers. As Cleveland grew in population, however, the demand for indoor recreation and spectator sports increased, and boxing and wrestling became popular despite continued legal problems and newspaper criticism.
The BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA (BSA), a national association originally designed for middle-class urban boys ages 12-18, originated in Britain and organized in the U.S. in 1910. That same year Matthew D. Crackel, head of the West Side Boys' Club and the first local Scout commissioner, founded Cleveland's first troop. Six other local troops organized later that year.
BOYD, ALBERT DUNCAN "STARLIGHT" (14 Feb. 1872-8 Dec. 1921), was a colorful Republican businessman whose association with Republican county chairman MAURICE MASCHKE and control of Ward 11 politics ranked him among the most powerful local blacks in the early 20th century.
BOYD, ELMER F. (19 Mar. 1878-12 Feb. 1944), son of William F. and Anna Mariah Waters Boyd, was a native of Urbana, Ohio. He came to Cleveland in 1898 and entered one of the few professions open to blacks at the turn of the century—-undertaking—-operating a funeral home in Cleveland from 1905 until his death.
BOYER, WILLIS BOOTH (3 Feb. 1915-31 Jan. 1974), Board chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Republic Steel and civic leader, Boyer was born in Pittsburgh, the son of Pearce F. and Hester Booth Boyer. He graduated from Lafayette College and came to Cleveland in 1937 joining Republic Steel as a clerk in the cold strip mill.
Cleveland BOYSTOWNS were organized in 1939 to combat juvenile delinquency. Fr. Flanagan's Omaha, NE, Boys Town, popularized in a 1938 film of the same name, inspired the program. City recreation commissioner J. Noble Richards proposed turning 6 vacant police precinct stations into self-governing recreation centers supervised by the city's Recreation Div. The Safety Dept.
BP AMERICA, formerly the Standard Oil Co. (Ohio), which was the original Standard Oil Co. founded by JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER in 1870 along with his brother, William, HENRY M.
BRADBURN, CHARLES (16 July 1808-12 Aug.1872) was a merchant and a leader in the organization and development of CLEVELAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS, called the "Father of Cleveland Schools", who worked from 1841-1861 as a member of the school board and/or City Council to establish Cleveland schools.
BRADLEY TRANSPORTATION, a major local builder of lake vessels, was at one time the largest single vessel owner in the city. The firm was founded in 1868 by Ahira Cobb and Capt. ALVA BRADLEY, a Connecticut-born seaman who turned from sailing to shipbuilding in 1841. The business was centered in Vermilion until 1859, when Bradley came to Cleveland and Cobb sold out his interest.
BRADLEY, ALVA (27 Nov. 1814-28 Nov. 1885), was a sailor, ship owner, and shipbuilder, who helped develop Great Lakes shipping. Born in Ellington, Conn., to Leonard and Roxanne Thrall Bradley, he moved to Brownhelm, Ohio in 1823. At 19 Bradley left home to become a sailor on the Great Lakes.
BRADSTREET'S DISASTER, which occurred 1.7 miles west of Rocky River on October 18 and 19, 1764, is one of the most notable events in the presettlement history of Cleveland. In late summer 1764, British Colonel John Bradstreet, renowned as the hero of Fort Frontenac, proceeded from Fort Niagara to Fort Detroit with 2,300 British regulars, American provincials, and Indians.
BRAINARD'S SONS. See S. BRAINARD'S SONS.
BRAINARD, SILAS (19 February 1814-8 April 1871) turned an avocation for music into a business that supplied Cleveland with much of its early musical scores and instruments.
BRAMLEY, MATTHEW FREDERICK (4 Jan. 1868 - 30 May 1941) was an influential businessman who organized, and was president of, the CLEVELAND TRINIDAD PAVING COMPANY, Templar Motors Company, and Bramley Storage Co.
BRASCHER, NAHUM DANIEL (24 May 1880-14 January 1945), a prominent AFRICAN AMERICAN journalist, educator, and community leader, active in Cleveland during the early decades of the twentieth century.