ACT UP CLEVELAND is the Cleveland chapter of the international organization, AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). The coalition is a grassroots political group founded in March, 1987 at the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center in New York City, with the goal of improving the quality of life for people with AIDS.
ACTIVE COMMUNICATIONS, INC., is the publisher of two tabloids, the Active Voice and the Weekly Farce. The company was founded in 1988 by two brothers in their 20s, Ken and Ron McEntee, both graduates of Berea High School. The Weekly Farce, introduced in Feb. 1988, is a publication devoted entirely to local and national humor, spoofing current news, politics, sports, and media.
ACTRON MANUFACTURING CO., largest producer of automotive test equipment in the nation, was incorporated 13 March 1964 by John W. Moran to make tachometers, voltmeters, and transistor ignitions for automobiles.
ADAMS, ALMEDA C. (February 26, 1865-September 8, 1949) overcame sightlessness to help found the CLEVELAND MUSIC SCHOOL SETTLEMENT and achieved a long career as a teacher, author, and lecturer.
ADAMS, SEYMOUR WEBSTER (1 Aug. 1815-27 Sept. 1864), pastor (1846-64) of Cleveland's FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, was born in Vernon, N.Y. His father, a farmer, was a deacon in the Baptist church, and his mother was a niece of Noah Webster.
ADDAMS, GEORGE STANTON (23 Feb. 1869-15 Apr. 1933), was the juvenile court judge in Cleveland from 1905 to 1926, and during these years he figured large in making the juvenile court the central coordinating organ for dependent and delinquent youth services. His efforts served as a model throughout Ohio and the entire Union. George S. Addams was born in Conotton, Ohio. He took a B.A.
ADDISON, HIRAM M. (21 Nov. 1818-14 Jan. 1898), was an early Cleveland settler, educator, and reformer. He was born to the pioneer Western Reserve family of William and Hannah Addison in EUCLID, educated in local schools, and began teaching in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania where he achieved a considerable reputation as an educator. He married Anna McCaslin (13 Nov. 1825 - 1 Aug.
ADDRESSOGRAPH MULTIGRAPH. See AM INTERNATIONAL.
ADOMEIT, GEORGE GUSTAV (15 Jan. 1879-22 Nov. 1967), was a prominent Cleveland businessman, artist, founder of the CLEVELAND SOCIETY OF ARTISTS. Adomeit was born in Memel, Germany, the son of George and Anna (Glozat) Adomeit. His family moved to Cleveland when he was 3.
ADRIAN, ARTHUR ALLEN (April 24, 1906 - 21 Oct. 1996) was professor of English at CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY and one of the world's leading authorities on the author Charles Dickens. He was born in Moundridge, Kansas, to Helena Harms and Peter Paul Adrian, and grew up working on the family farm. He graduated from Heston Academy and earned his B.S.
ADULT REHABILITATION CENTER. See SALVATION ARMY.
ADVANSTAR COMMUNICATIONS is one of the top 5 publishers of trade journals in the U.S. Its presence in Cleveland can be traced back to HBJ Publications, the business periodicals division of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, a leading publisher of textbooks and periodicals. In a major reorganization early in the 1980s, HBJ established Cleveland as a third corporate headquarters, along with San Diego and Orlando.
AEROSPACE INDUSTRY. Although Cleveland seemed unimpressed by the first flight of a heavier-than-air machine by two Ohioans from Dayton, Orville and Wilbur Wright, the city played an important role in the early development of the airplane.
The city of Cleveland had eleven professional baseball teams in the organized Negro Leagues between 1920 and 1950. Many of these teams only survived for one season in the Negro Leagues because of a number of issues; usually financial problems or disorganization.
Please see individual biographies for more details on each team:
The AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM, formerly the Afro-American Cultural & Historical Society Museum (est. 15 April 1953, inc.
AFRICAN AMERICANS. Cleveland's African American community is almost as old as the city itself. GEORGE PEAKE, the first Black settler, arrived in 1809 and by 1860 there were 799 Black people living in a growing community of over 43,000. As early as the 1850s, most of Cleveland's African American population lived on the east side.
AFRO-AMERICAN CULTURAL & HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM. See AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM.
The AGORA/AGORA BALLROOM has been an innovative dance club and concert hall since the 1960s. Its support of local bands, new music styles, and upcoming national recording acts helped create a strong local club scene. The Agora was opened on 6 July 1967 at 2175 Cornell Rd. by Henry J. LoConti, Sr. and several partners.
Agricultural Land in Cuyahoga County
| Year | |
|---|---|
| 1900 | |
| % of County Acreage in Farmland | 80.2 |
AGRICULTURE. The first settlers in Cuyahoga County followed the usual pioneer routine. They made clearances, planted corn, buckwheat, and rye, fenced in garden patches, and kept oxen, cows, and swine. When the soil had been "tamed" by other crops, they sowed wheat. They carried on their activities in spite of malaria, the ravaging of crops by multitudes of squirrels, and attacks on their livestock by wolves.
The AHS FOUNDATION funded Cleveland educational and cultural activities for 15 years. AHS was founded in 1968 by Leland and Helen Schubert, retirees and active volunteers since their arrival in the city in 1956. AHS has emphasized education, especially alternative projects, social and community relations, and health care. The foundation has consistently preferred to fund projects (but not individuals) for 3 or more years.
The AIDS TASKFORCE OF GREATER CLEVELAND, a nonprofit established in 1983 as the Health Issues Taskforce of Cleveland (incorporated in February 1984), is the oldest organization in Ohio to serve people with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Its mission is to provide compassionate and collaborative responses to the needs of people infected, affected, and at risk of HIV/AIDS.
AIKEN, SAMUEL CLARK (21 Sept. 1791-1 Jan. 1879), the first resident pastor of Cleveland's FIRST PRESBYTERIAN (OLD STONE) CHURCH, was one of the most prominent clergymen in the city in the mid-19th century.
The AIR FOUNDATION was a nonprofit organization that specialized in grants and scholarships for space- and aviation-related purposes. The foundation was incorporated in 1945 by FREDERICK C. CRAWFORD (of Thompson Products), Alvin C. Ernst (Ernst & Ernst), W. Trevor Holliday (Standard Oil), and Albert J. Weatherhead (the Weatherhead Co.).
The AIR-MAZE CORP., manufacturer of a variety of air and liquid filters, was organized in 1925 by Albert E. Schaaf, a business executive in bicycle and automobile manufacturing. First located at 321 the CAXTON BLDG., 812 Huron Rd., the company originally made air filters for automobiles, but it soon became a pioneer in the development of a variety of filters.
AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES. See AEROSPACE INDUSTRY.
The AITANEET BROTHERHOOD ASSN., a Lebanese-American hometown society, was formed in 1927 by a group of natives from Aitaneet in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. The association has aided needy Lebanese and Syrians in Cleveland and in the village of Aitaneet, helping to build schools and other facilities there.
The AJAX MANUFACTURING CO. was incorporated in 1875 by John Rollin Blakeslee (1843-1906). Blakeslee had earlier operated the Blakeslee Manufacturing Co., also in Cleveland, which manufactured nuts, bolts, rivets, and pins. Ajax Manufacturing Co., operating at 3830 Lakeside, discontinued headed products to concentrate on forging equipment and cold drawing equipment for the cold-heading industry.
AJAX TECHNOLOGIES. See AJAX MANUFACTURING CO.
AKRAM, WALI A. (4 Aug. 1904-1 Aug. 1994) was founder of First Cleveland Mosque, the first official home to Muslims in Cleveland. He remained its imam for 52 years.
AKRON GENERAL HOSPITAL was incorporated on February 20, 1914 as the Peoples Hospital Company. At the time, Akron was one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. To meet an increasing demand for healthcare services, Dr.s W.W. Leondard, A.F. Sippy, and G.M. Logan imagined a new hospital that would be financed, owned, and patronized by the people of Akron.
The AKRON RUBBERDUCKS, established in 1923, are a prominent Minor League Baseball team located in Akron, Ohio.
AKZO NOBEL SALT, INC., with headquarters in Clarks Summit, PA, is the largest salt producer in the U.S. and the only exporter of raw materials in Cleveland. The company began production in Cleveland in 1962 as the Intl. Salt Co.
AL WILHELMY FLOWERS has been providing flowers to the Greater Cleveland area since c. 1880.
ALBANIANS are today one of Greater Cleveland's most prominent ethnic communities, growing significantly since the fall of communism in Albania in 1992. They arrived in Cleveland in four distinct waves: late 19th century (1890s), early 20th century (1900-1938), post-World War II (1945-1992), and after the fall of communism (1992-present).
The ALBERT M. HIGLEY CO. is a Cleveland-based general contracting and construction management firm that has built many recognizable structures in Northeast Ohio. Among the Higley Co. 's many projects are the Hiram College Science Building (1927); Curtis Wright Airport (CUYAHOGA COUNTY AIRPORT) (1929); the U.S.
ALBL, MICHAEL ALBERT (8 Oct. 1869-19 Feb. 1944) was a doctor prominent in Cleveland's Czech community. He was born in Cleveland and was one of six sons of Michael and Katherine (Peck) Albl. His father, who arrived in the U.S. in 1850, was well known in the Czech community of Cleveland especially due to his involvement in numerous organizations.
ALBRITTON, DAVID (13 April 1913-14 May 1994) made his marks as a high jumper in the Olympic Games and as a pioneering African American in the Ohio General Assembly. He was born in Danville, Ala., the son of Peter and Josephine Albritton.
ALBURN, WILFRED HENRY (20 April 1877-9 Sept. 1952), was an author, editor, publisher, journalist, and historian. With his wife, Miriam, he wrote a 4-volume history, This Cleveland of Ours (1933) (see HISTORIES OF CLEVELAND). Alburn was born in Lawrence County, PA, to John Frederick and Cecelia Luebben Alburn.
The ALCAN ALUMINUM CORP., the 3rd-largest aluminum fabricator in the nation, was created on 6 Jan. 1965 by its parent company, Alcan Aluminium, Ltd. This Canadian firm, formed in 1928, served the U.S. for years as a supplier of aluminum ingots. In 1960, seeking to enter the U.S. fabrication market, the firm purchased the plants of the Natl. Distillers & Chemical Corp. and the Cerro Corp.
The ALCAZAR HOTEL, at 2450 Derbyshire Rd. in CLEVELAND HTS., was built in 1923 as a residential apartment hotel, one of the earliest suburban hotels in the Cleveland area. It is designed in a Spanish-Moorish eclectic idiom, intentionally reminiscent of the complex in St.
The ALCO STANDARD CORP., a leading firm in the manufacturing, distribution, and resource fields, was organized in 1965 by a group of entrepreneurs, which included Clevelander Tinkham Veale II as its principle founder and first president.
ALEXANDER, WILLIAM HARRY (10 Nov. 1916-24 Aug. 1988) served as president and co-publisher of the CLEVELAND CALL & POST (1981-1988) and presided over the board of the REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY (RTA, 1979-84). A Washington, D.C.
ALGER, HENRY (30 Oct. 1789-2 April 1862) and his family were the first permanent settlers in the part of Rockport Township which became LAKEWOOD and were the earliest settlers to travel over the Indian path that became Detroit Avenue.
ALI-BEY, OMAR (17 Oct. 1954-3 Sept. 1994), a leader in Cleveland's African-American community, was an example of how a person can convert a life of crime into one of social service. Born Harold Iverson in Cleveland, son of Arthur Iverson and Louise (McBride), he attended East Technical High School, but dropped out before graduation.
The ALI-WEPNER FIGHT on 24 Mar. 1975 was the first major boxing match in Cleveland since the SCHMELING-STRIBLING FIGHT of 1931. The uneven contest matched the reigning heavyweight champion of the world, Mohammed Ali (formerly Cassius Clay), against Chuck Wepner, a liquor salesman from Bayonne, NJ.
The ALIENED AMERICAN not only was Cleveland's first black newspaper, but apparently was also intended to be a regional voice. It was founded at the urging of the Ohio and Natl. Conventions of Colored Freemen from 1849-53. Three editors finally produced the paper's inaugural issue on 9 Apr. 1853, at a time when they claimed there were only 2 other black papers in publication in the entire country. WM. H.
The ALLEGHANY CORP., an investment holding company chartered in 1929 and headquartered in Cleveland, was originally financed through its holding of the Van Sweringen brothers' stock in 5 eastern railroads.