Category: Business and Industry

MARCONI MEDICAL SYSTEMS, a division of Philips Medical Systems, was created in 1999 out of Picker International, Inc., then a leading manufacturer of medical diagnostic systems. Picker International began in New York City when druggist James Picker first supplied Kodak x-ray plates and accessories to local hospitals in 1909. Picker organized the James Picker Co.

MARCONI MEDICAL SYSTEMS, a division of Philips Medical Systems, was created in 1999 out of Picker International, Inc., then a leading manufacturer of medical diagnostic systems. Picker International began in New York City when druggist James Picker first supplied Kodak x-ray plates and accessories to local hospitals in 1909. Picker organized the James Picker Co.

MARKETS AND MARKET HOUSES. The public market is an institution in Cleveland, as it is in almost every large city in Europe and many in the U.S. It was conceived as a place where farmer and consumer could meet for the sale and purchase of farm products without the intervention of middlemen.

MAROTTA, VINCENT G.  (22 Feb. 1924-1 Aug. 2015) was an entrepreneur best known for developing the Mr. Coffee home-brewing coffee maker. The son of Italian immigrants to Cleveland, Marotta became a standout athlete at SHAKER HEIGHTS High School.

MARTIN AIRCRAFT CO. See GLENN L. MARTIN AIRCRAFT CO.

MASTER BUILDERS, a supplier of cement additives to the construction industry and a leader in cement technology, was founded in 1909 by Sylvester W. Flesheim, with a factory at 6511 Morgan Ave. The company smelted lead from old batteries to make a metallic floor hardener for improving wear resistance of cement floors.

THE MASTER PRODUCTS CO. is a long-lived Cleveland-based manufacturer of washers, bushings, and other stamped metal products. The company was founded in 1919 in a 4,400 square foot facility at 6400 Park Avenue in the BROADWAY-SLAVIC VILLAGE neighborhood, where it is still located, although its facilities have expanded to 66,000 square feet.

MATHER, SAMUEL (13 July 1851-18 Oct. 1931), industrialist and philanthropist, son of Samuel and Georgiana Woolson Mather, was born and educated in Cleveland. He planned attending Harvard, then working at his father's business, Cleveland Iron Co., but had an mining accident requiring lengthy recuperation. In 1882, Mather affiliated with JAMES S. PICKANDS and Jay C.

MCDONALD & CO. SECURITIES, a large Cleveland-based investment banking and brokerage house, was formed in 1927 when Chas. B. McDonald and James Callahan borrowed $50,000 to buy the Geo. W. York Co. The McDonald & Callahan partnership went through several name changes before becoming McDonald & Co. in 1944.

The 1969 MCDONALD'S BOYCOTT was a late Civil Rights era protest aiming to win Black Ownership of ‘Inner-City’ McDonald’s franchises, then a rapidly-growing business. The Boycott lasted nearly 2 months, and was an important event that encapsulated the shift from the politics of the Civil Rights Movement to the era of Black Power.

MCGEAN-ROHCO, INC., a manufacturer of industrial and proprietary chemicals for the plating and metalworking industries, was founded as McGean Chemical Co. in May 1929 by John A. McGean and his son, Ralph L. McGean. With offices in the B.G. Keith Bldg. at Euclid and E.

The MCILRATH TAVERN was a well-known hostelry located on the northwest corner of EUCLID and Superior Aves. in EAST CLEVELAND. Abner McIlrath opened the tavern in 1837, although some accounts state that his brother, Alexander, had earlier maintained a general store and tavern at the same location.

MEDUSA CORP., a nationally known cement company, was founded by 3 brothers, Arthur, Spencer, and Wm. Newberry, as the Sandusky Portland Cement Co. in 1892, with offices in Cleveland and a plant at Bay Bridge near Sandusky. The company was shortly renamed Medusa Portland Cement Co. for the Greek goddess Medusa, who turned all who looked at her to stone.

MELAMED RILEY , see MELDRUM AND FEWSMITH.

MELDRUM AND FEWSMITH, creator of influential and memorable advertising, was founded in 1930 by Andrew B. Meldrum, a copywriter, and Joseph Fewsmith, an account executive, who were partners for nearly 40 years in Philadelphia, then in Toledo, and then as Sweeney & James in Cleveland before forming their own firm.

The MERCANTILE NATIONAL BANK, one of the early banks in Cleveland, opened as the Merchants Bank on 24 June 1845 on Water (W. 9th St. and Superior) with capital of $112,500. It was one of the 2 state branch banks allotted to Cleveland under a new state banking law enacted that year.

The MIDLAND-ROSS CO. was a diversified manufacturer of consumer and industrial products, aerospace and electronic components, and capital goods. It began as the Parish & Bingham Co., founded in Cleveland in 1894 to produce bicycle, wagon, and trolley parts. On 21 March 1923, ELROY J. KULAS merged Parish & Bingham, the Detroit Pressed Steel Co., and the Parish Mfg. Co.

MIDTOWN CORRIDOR, INC., was established in 1982 at 4614 Prospect Ave. in Cleveland. The purpose of the nonprofit organization was to promote and revitalize 1 sq. mi. east of downtown Cleveland, and to retain and create jobs for residents of the city. The original boundaries were Carnegie Ave. north to Chester and Perkins avenues, and E. 79th St. west to the I-90 Innerbelt.

MILLER, RUTH RATNER (1 Dec. 1925 - 26 November 1996) was a civic leader, businesswoman, and philanthropist who was responsible for the rebuilding and renovation of TOWER CITY CENTER in the mid-1980s. Born in Cleveland to Lillian (Bernstein) and LEONARD RATNER†, she earned a B.S.

MILSTEIN, CARL (2 May 1924 - 7 Nov. 1999) was a prominent developer and self-made millionaire who built homes in Brook Park in the 1950s and later built high-rise apartment complexes. Milstein was born in Cleveland to Ida (Rosen) and Morris Milstein, who ran a poultry business. He graduated from John Adams High School and briefly attended Ohio State University.