Category: Immigration and Ethnicity

CLARK, RICHARD F. “RICH” (September 14, 1951-September 20, 2022) was a teacher, school administrator, and innovator in Cleveland Catholic education. He was born to Walter Clark and Mary Daly in Boston, Massachusetts. At a young age, Clark and his family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he attended Loyola Academy.

CLEARY, MICHAEL J. (November 12, 1934 - December 31, 2015) was a leader in organizing bodies of collegiate and professional sports, serving as executive director of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), from 1965-2011.

The CLEVELAND AGREEMENT was a memorandum of understanding that was concluded in Cleveland in 1915 between CZECH and

The CLEVELAND CULTURAL GARDENS are a series of landscaped gardens honoring the various ethnic communities of Cleveland, extending from Lake Erie to UNIVERSITY CIRCLE along East Blvd. and Martin Luther King, Jr.

The CLEVELAND FOREIGN CONSULAR CORPS, formed in 1925, is a group of men and women selected by various foreign governments to serve as nonpolitical representatives of international diplomacy between the country they represent and the U.S.—particularly the Cleveland area.

The CLEVELAND JEWISH NEWS became heir to the tradition of the city's English-language Jewish press in 1964, when it was born of the merger of the Jewish Review & Observer with the Jewish Independent. It could be traced back to the founding of Cleveland's first Jewish newspaper, the Hebrew Observer, by Hiram Straus and Sam Oppenheimer on 5 July 1889.

The CLEVELAND MANX SOCIETY was organized from Mona's Relief Society and Mona's Mutual Benefit Society, which provided assistance to immigrants from the Isle of Man, Mona once being the name of the Isle of Man. Mona's Relief Society was organized by 21 Manx settlers in 1851, 25 years after the first Manxmen arrived in Cleveland, for "the mutual improvement of its members, and the charitable relief of" Manxmen in need.

The CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY- BROADWAY BRANCH or Broadway Free Carnegie Library is a designated CLEVELAND LANDMARK STRUCTURE located at 5437 Broadway Ave. or 3328 East 55th St.

The CLEVELAND THYAGARAJA FESTIVAL was established in 1978 by ASIAN INDIAN immigrants who wished to start a Thyagaraja Aradhana.

CLEVELAND WELSH SOCIETY. See BRITISH IMMIGRATION.

The CLUB ALMA YAUCANA was founded in June of 1961 is considered the first and oldest Puerto Rican social club in the city.

CLUB AZTECA plays a pivotal role in the life of the Mexican-American community in Greater Cleveland. The first substantial group of Mexicans (see HISPANICS) to migrate to Cleveland arrived shortly after the end of World War I.

COLAVITO, ROCCO DOMENICO “ROCKY” (10 August 1933-10 December 2024) was an All-Star outfielder and fan favorite for the CLEVELAND INDIANS, whose trade from the team was the source of a legend of a curse bearing his name.

COMAN, JOHN C. (6 Mar. 1926 - 14 April 1997) was a banker, lawyer, and Romanian community leader. He was born in Cleveland to Anna (Zula) and John Coman, both of whom came from Romania. As a child he delivered groceries from his parents' store on W. 49th St. and Detroit Ave. He graduated B.S.

CORRIGAN, HON. JOHN V. (April 3, 1920 -December 21, 2004) served 42 years as a judge on the Cleveland Municipal Court, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, and Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals, exercising leadership within the judicial profession and in the community-at-large, to improve the administration of justice and to aid the delivery of health and social services by Cleveland and national organizations.

CORRIGAN, HON. WILLIAM H. (November 29, 1923 - February 1, 2017) was a lawyer, community activist, and judge in the Housing Division of the Cleveland Municipal Court.

COUGHLIN, DANIEL FRANCIS "DAN"  (17 September 1938-6 October 2024) was an award-winning sportswriter and broadcast journalist who worked at the PLAIN DEALER and WJW in Cleveland.

COYNE, MARY FRANCES (June 8, 1933-January 15, 2023) was a businesswoman, civic volunteer, and active charitable organizer. She was born to Irish immigrant parents James O’Rourke and Mary Burke, who hailed from Counties Down and Galway, respectively. 

COYNE, RICHARD FRANCIS (September 5, 1935 - August 23, 2014) was the founder and first president of the GREAT LAKES SCIENCE CENTER in Cleveland, OH. He was born to Frank W. and Kathryn (McDonald) Coyne in Scranton, PA.

COZZENS, FATHER DONALD (May 17, 1939-December 9, 2021) was a priest, professor, and author who wrote about contemporary issues in the Catholic Church. He was the oldest of four children born to Bernard and Florence (Gaye) Cozzens.

CROATIANS. In 1990 Greater Cleveland contained over 15,000 people whose primary ancestry was Croatian, the 4th-largest concentration of Croatians in the U.S., after Pittsburgh, Chicago, and New York. During the two world wars, and in the period 1950-70, Cleveland was a main center of Croatian and South Slavic political, fraternal, and cultural activities.

CROSSER, ROBERT (7 June 1874-3 June 1957) was a Democratic politician who represented the Cleveland area in the United States Congress for 38 years between 1912 and 1954. Influenced by Mayor TOM L.